ACAS: Telephone Services
(asked on 12th March 2018) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding has been provided from the public purse to Acas for its helpline in each of the last five years; and how many workers were assisted by Acas in that same period.
The funding for the Acas Helpline over the last 5 financial years is:
- 2016/17 £14,162,000
- 2015/16 £13,748,000
- 2014/15 £13,191,000
- 2013/14 £13,697,000
- 2012/13 £14,512,000
The table below outlines the number of calls, pre-recorded advice sessions, webchats and Helpline Online advice sessions made over the past 5 years. Due to the confidential nature of the Acas Helpline advice is provided anonymously and no records are retained to identify customers who call more than once.
Current data shows 82% of calls to the Acas Helpline were made by employees or workers.
The number of contacts with Helpline Services during the same 5 years is as follows:
Helpline Service | 2016-17 | 2015-16 | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | 2012-13 |
Helpline advice is available over the telephone or online via acas.org.uk/helpline | |||||
Voice calls answered | |||||
Helpline advice delivered over the telephone. | 886,929 | 943,610 | 903,679 | 895,748 | 928,995 |
Pre-recorded advice sessions | |||||
Helpline callers can select pre-recorded advice regarding Minimum Wage, Holidays or Wage Deductions before being connected to an adviser. | 27,000 | 25,487 | 22,527 | 25,550 | 25,664 |
Helpline Online sessions | |||||
Helpline Online is an interactive database of frequently asked questions written by Helpline advisers. | 508,318 | 509,103 | 531,712 | 313,415 | 810 |
Webchat Sessions | |||||
Webchat allows real time text-based conversation with Helpline advisers. | 2,688 | 4,099 | 2,672 | n/a | n/a |
Total Contacts | 1,424,935 | 1,482,299 | 1,460,590 | 1,234,713 | 955,469 |