Interesting that the reply made a point of stating that it isn't 'Premium Rate' - pedantic! Yet makes a point of stating it is 'National Rate' which it isn't

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 08 Jan 2007 (pt 0015)

Telephone Services
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps Ofcom is taking to inform the public of the cost of 0871 numbers. [108538]

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 09 Jan 2007 (pt 0023)

Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the recent performance of Jobcentre Plus in dealing with claimants; and if he will make a statement. [102175]

Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Leslie Strathie, dated 9 January 2007:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what assessment he has made on the performance of Jobcentre Plus in dealing with claimants. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

Jobcentre Plus employs around 71,000 staff dealing with some 235 million contacts from customers per year. Every working day, we conduct 36,000 work-focused interviews, and process over 15,000 new benefit claims. Through our website, we enable customers to access details of around 300,000 job vacancies.

We are part way through a process to transform the way the business operates to provide improved labour market and benefit services more efficiently and with fewer staff. In our new offices, which are already in place across most of the country, customers experience a more welcoming and professional environment and our Contact Centres and e-channels provide greater flexibility in the ways customers can contact us. I am pleased to say that, this year, Contact Centre performance has consistently exceeded our internal target of answering 90 percent of calls. from customers. In addition, the vast majority of people contacting Jobcentre Plus to make a new claim for benefit can expect to be called back within 36 hours (currently 86 per cent.), helping to ensure that people receive the financial and work-focused support that they need at the earliest possible opportunity.

Following pilots of a new Standard Operating Model in North Lincolnshire and Central London, Jobcentre Plus has begun to roll-out changes to its delivery model to improve further our customer service. Changes to be introduced over the coming months include: an 0800 number for new claims customers, to replace the 0845 service; and a single call to the contact centre to claim benefit.

idb wrote on Jan 13^th, 2007 at 4:53am:


Another victory of sorts although one does wonder why they needed to get an 0800 number with all the extra cost implications involved for the government and also problems of extra cost for mobile phone users rather than just a new a 0300 or 0345 phone number charged as per 01/02 phone calls?

But incredibly HMRC (nee Inland Revenue) is still training staff to tell callers who complain about their 0845 number that it is charged at "Local Rate".  A member of their call centre staff told me that regardless of what he might personally know about the cost of calls to these numbers that this was what senior management trained him to tell people was the call cost.

Some FOIs in that quarter are definitely required.

I fear that it again demonstrates a lack of understanding about mobile tariffs. Probably because they do not pay their own bills.
And also the acceptance of telco insistence that they can not divert 01/02X calls easily...

idb wrote on Feb 28^th, 2007 at 11:44pm:


i.e. they can do whatever they like as the BBC so arrogantly and repeatedly proves,  so the COI guidelines are completely and utterly useless.

Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Wednesday 28 February 2007
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Wednesday 28 February 2007

Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many times the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Services (ICSTIS) has (a) issued formal reprimands to service providers, (b) ordered service providers to submit future promotions and services to them for prior approval for a set period, (c) ordered a service provider to pay reasonable and valid claims for compensation, (d) imposed fines on service providers, (e) barred service providers access to service and (f) banned named individuals from operating services for set periods for breaching the ICSTIS Code of Practice.