New clause 1 - Advice
State Pension Credit Bill [Lords]
10:15 am
Ms Annabelle Ewing (Perth, Scottish National Party)
Yes, that is exactly the point. It is also true of technology. Many new pensioners will be much more au fait with computers than those in older age brackets. Those older pensioners may have completed computer courses at further education colleges, but that, I think we would all accept, is unlikely. There should be no element of compulsion forcing pensioners to deal with the service via a particular communication channel.
We need to be satisfied that the arrangements for the call centres will be adequate. We have all experienced problems with call centres—that is not an attack on the staff of call centres, who do an extremely good job, frequently in very difficult conditions. Whether a call centre is successful depends on how it is set up, resourced and managed. We do not have very much detail of the plans for the service's new call centres. It seems that there are to be 26 of them. Does the Minister know how many staff will be allocated to each one? Is it envisaged that each member of staff will be trained to the same level, or will there be more junior front-line staff in a pyramid structure, with a few managers at the top? That is an important point because it can be frustrating and may increase the length of calls if the first point of contact in a call centre is someone who is not trained to a particular level.
Has any estimation been made of the necessary resources based on the estimated average length of the call to a freefone number? When pensioners ask a series of questions so that the relevant form can be set out, how long is the call likely to take? Calls could be lengthy, so there is a strong argument for a freefone number.
Lastly, on another point that frustrates those who use call centres, if the person who makes the call does not have all the information to hand and has to phone back, will he or she have to start at the beginning again or will it be possible to slot in somewhere in the middle? The Minister is looking exasperated. Perhaps the Minister does not have to use call centres in his position.