To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average call duration is of a universal credit telephone enquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average call waiting time is for a universal credit telephone enquiry.

This summer we introduced a new routed telephony service for Universal Credit Full Service claims where claimants with an existing claim are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with their case. Of the calls offered via the 0800 328 5644 (Universal Credit Full Service) number during September 2018, the average call duration was 6 minutes and 54 seconds and the average call waiting time was 1 minute and 6 seconds.

We also provide a free national enquiry service for calls from people who do not yet have a processed claim. For the month of September the average call duration of a telephone enquiry to the Universal Credit Full Service enquiry line was 6 minutes and 15 seconds and the average call waiting time was 6 minutes and 10 seconds.