Average speed of answering PIP telephone enquiries exceeded 40 minutes in March, April and May 2023

Responding to a written question in Parliament, Minister advises that Department is currently in the process of ‘recruiting additional resource into telephony’ in order to increase the number of calls answered and reduce wait times

DWP Minister Tom Pursglove has confirmed that the average speed of answering calls to the personal independence payment (PIP) telephone enquiry line exceeded 40 minutes in March, April and May 2023.

Responding to a written question in Parliament today on the average speed of answering PIP calls, Mr Pursglove confirms that the average waiting time has risen from around 25 minutes in January 2023 to a peak of almost 45 minutes in April before dropping slightly to 40 minutes in May 2023 –

Mr Pursglove also advises that –

'PIP has experienced unprecedented levels of new claims from customers in recent months and, as a result, we have seen increased call traffic.

We are currently in the process of recruiting additional resource into telephony, so that we can increase the number of calls answered and reduce current wait times.'

Mr Pursglove's written question is available from parliament.uk