Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the average speed of answer published in HM Revenue and Customs' performance data includes time spent by callers listening to automated messages before joining a queue for an adviser.

HMRC’s published Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure does not include the time callers spend listening to automated messages or selecting options through the automated menu.

ASA measures the time from when a customer has finished listening to the automated messages and completed their selection from the automated menu to the time when they get to speak to an adviser.

HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a regular basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates