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Our ref: FoI 1411
Dear Mr Eriksohn,
Thank you for your request, of 17 July under [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:20:00 2009
] received on [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
]17[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
]th[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
] July [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
]009, for information under[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
] [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:42:00 2009
]the Freedom [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
]of [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
]Information[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:21:00 2009
] Act.
You requested the following information:
1. Please could you provide the geographical numbers for BDC's
This information is being withheld because it is exempt from disclosure under Section [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:22:00 2009 ]36(2)(c) of the Freedom [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:23:00 2009 ]of [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:23:00 2009 ]Information[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:23:00 2009 ] Act. This exemption protects information which, if released, would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs.
This is because disclosure of the geographic numbers[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:25:00 2009
] that you seek would set a precedent for the release of all other similar numbers. This [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]would result in th[Author ID1: at Tue Aug 18 11:41:00 2009
]e [Author ID1: at Tue Aug 18 11:42:00 2009
]a [Author ID1: at Tue Aug 18 11:42:00 2009
]deterioration in the customer service we provide,[Author ID1: at Mon Aug 10 13:54:00 2009
] as a consequence of unmanaged access to our telephone network. Jobcentre Plus is a very large delivery organisation with many local offices backed up by a network of benefit delivery and contact centres that deal with over 45 million calls each year. We cannot risk the serious compromise to our telephony strategy that disclosure of these geographic numbers would cause.
This exemption also requires the balancing of the public interest for and against disclosure. In coming to my decision I have considered the arguments in favour of, and against, disclosure.
Generally, there is a public interest in making the telephone numbers of our offices available, particularly where this increases customer choice and service. However, it is in the public interest that we are able to take full advantage of the efficiencies and service improvements provided by new technology. This includes the use of specific customer help lines with appropriate automatic call routing to the correct teams able to deal with specific enquiries in our Benefit Delivery and Contact Centres. As I have already said, any unmanaged access to the geographic telephone numbers you seek would cause disruption and a deterioration of customer service for the public in general. This would result in additional costs in dealing with unmanaged calls and Jobcentre Plus would also lose key call management information essential to the planning and allocation of staff resources.
In all the circumstances I am satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption at s[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]S[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]ection 36(2)(c) of the Freedom [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]of [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]Information[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
] [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
] [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:26:00 2009
]Act outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
2. For what reason do you use 0845 numbers instead of those starting
01xxx, 02xx or 03xx and who made this decision and when? Was any
public consultation carried out?
The Department's Executive Team agreed in 2008 that our [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:27:00 2009
]strategy is that calls to claim benefit should be free to a customer so it uses 0800 free phone numbers for these calls. [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:27:00 2009
]
DWP's telephony numbering policy is that:
calls to claim benefit should be free, so we [Author ID1: at Mon Aug 10 13:55:00 2009
]should use 0800 numbers,
calls for other reasons, which take less time to resolve, should be charged at a standard rate, so we [Author ID1: at Mon Aug 10 13:56:00 2009
]should use 0845 numbers.
This helps the Department deal with the very large [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
]volume of calls that we deal with over the course of a year,[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
] and[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
] to satisfy our customers' needs in a way that is effective for them, and as efficient as possible from the taxpayer's perspective. No public consultation was[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
]has been[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
] undertaken in this respect[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:28:00 2009
].
08 numbers were selected because DWP uses the intelligent call routing features that 08 number services offer to manage calls into the[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:29:00 2009
]our[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:29:00 2009
] network. These features[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:29:00 2009
] and[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:30:00 2009
] these services [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:29:00 2009
]are not available using 01/02 numbers. In addition[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:30:00 2009
]The reason we selected [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:30:00 2009
] [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:30:00 2009
]0845 numbers incur less cost for our customers [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:31:00 2009
]is that costs of calling 0845 numbers remain lower [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:32:00 2009
]than many alternatives.[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:33:00 2009
] and, where it is poss[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:33:00 2009
] For customers [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:34:00 2009
]ible[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:33:00 2009
], [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:34:00 2009
]using BT landlines to call [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:34:00 2009
]0845 numbers is[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:34:00 2009
]are generally a[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:35:00 2009
] usually the[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:35:00 2009
] lowest[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:35:00 2009
]r[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:35:00 2009
] cost option than conventional BT geographic numbers[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:36:00 2009
]. That is an important consideration given that[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:36:00 2009
] BT account for two-thirds of landline provision and our recent research shows that[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:37:00 2009
] over 70% of our customers contact us using landlines. Therefore, we concluded that 0845 numbers offered the best solution for the majority of our customers.[Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:37:00 2009
]
Where a customer calling our 0800 or 0845 services asks us, or raises concerns over the cost of the call, we will offer to call them back. [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:37:00 2009
]
3. Ofcom states on its web site: “We do, however, encourage public
bodies to use the cheaper 03 number range where possible”
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/landline/costofcalls/08faq/.
What consideration has been made to implementing Ofcom's advice?
The Department has considered the use of 0300 numbers to replace 0845 numbers. However, our analysis currently [Author ID1: at Mon Aug 10 13:57:00 2009
]shows that this would result currently [Author ID1: at Mon Aug 10 13:57:00 2009
]in higher charges for the majority (but not all) [Author ID1: at Fri Aug 7 09:37:00 2009
]of the Department's customers.
Yours sincerely
Central FoI Team
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing [DWP request email] or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, 2nd Floor The Adelphi, 1-11, John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk