Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
HMRC secured additional funding for staff, achieving telephone customer service targets in 2024.
Conclusion
In May 2024, HMRC received £51 million additional funding, to cover approximately 1,500 staff for 2024–25, to bring its customer service to target levels for answering 85% of customers’ attempts to speak to an adviser on the telephone and for handling 80% of correspondence within 15 working days.19 It said it achieved its target for telephone performance in October 2024 and expects to sustain it for the remainder of 2024–25 and for 2025– 26.20 13 Customer service, paras 21, 2.1 14 Q 73 15 Customer service, para 1.24 16 Q 74 17 Q 81 18 Q 12 19 Report on 2023–24 Accounts, para 9 20 Q 48 9 2 Moving customers to digital services Developing effective digital services
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the committee's recommendation to consider HMRC's resourcing as part of the Spending Review to further digitise customer services and enable more customers to self-serve online, and will publish a Transformation Roadmap in 2025 outlining plans to extend digital services and provide better customer service, including digital inclusion and support.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The government agrees with recommendation 2a and is currently considering HMRC’s resourcing as part of the Spending Review. Further digitising HMRC’s customer services will enable more customers to self-serve online, which in turn will enable HMRC’s helpline advisers to focus on helping those customers who need support because, for example, they are digitally excluded, are experiencing vulnerable circumstances or due to the complexity of their affairs. HMRC will publish a Transformation Roadmap in 2025 outlining plans to extend digital services and provide better customer service for customers. It will include measures to ensure digital inclusion and support for customers who cannot interact with HMRC digitally. Greater digitisation of HMRC’s services will both improve services for customers and provide better efficiency for the taxpayer.