Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2017 to Question 110425, on social security benefits, for what reasons there was a difference between this Answer and the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 44894 to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West; and if he will make a statement.

The Department’s call data does not distinguish initial enquiry calls about a new claim to a social security benefit from other subsequent calls about new claims. The information held by the Department for all calls received by its new claims lines includes initial enquiries and many other subsequent calls about new claims.

Consequently The Department cannot provide an estimate, or indeed any actuals, identifying initial claim calls only.

For example,

Customer A calls to enquire about making a claim (initial enquiry),

She then submits a claim and follows it up with a call to enquire about payment (subsequent call). She then calls to correct information provided in the original claim (further subsequent call).

The data does not distinguish between the first call and subsequent calls.

The answer of 13 September 2016 explained that the information included calls ‘both enquiring about claiming benefit and making a claim to benefit’.