HMRC telephony closures in February and March

During December 2021 HMRC ran a ‘test and learn’ on the corporation tax and VAT helplines (except bereavement) to assess the impact of telephony closure across three Fridays and used the time to focus on its post backlogs in these lines. 

HMRC’s chief executive Jim Harra states in a message shared with stakeholders and the professional bodies: ‘On average we cleared more than 4 000 additional pieces of post each day during the test and learn. We saw an increased productivity rate among colleagues above our initial planning assumptions who were able to focus on the task without stopping mid-way through to take a phone call. 

‘As anticipated we saw an increase in telephony contact on Monday’s following the Friday closures and estimate we received 2 500 extra calls over the three Mondays (using November as a comparator). We were able...