Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial gain his Department has made arising from the use of telephone lines which are not free to call in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

In the 5 financial years to and including 2013-14 the Department for Work and Pensions recieved no direct financial or non-financial benefit from its telephony provider for the the operation of its telephone services. In line with Cabinet Office guidance published in December 2013, the Department has negotiated a rebate against the cost of providing 0845 services which has a value equivalent to 0.3 pence per minute for calls to its 0845 services. This arrangement was only effective from 1st April 2014 and the rebate will be used to reduce the costs of other services provided by the same supplier, and currently this negotiated procedure has accrued circa £117k (to August 2014.)