Customer service performance levels

FOI reference: FOI-2025-3068

You asked

This is an information request relating to customer service performance levels.

Please include the following information for the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25:​​​​​​​

• The average call wait times for your customer service phone lines are each year
• The percentage of calls answered within your target time for each of those years
• The average response time for written correspondence (email, letter, or online submissions) in each of those years.
• The percentage of correspondence responded to within the organisation's target timeframe in each year.
• The number of formal complaints received relating to delays, unanswered calls, or poor customer service, broken down by year.
• If held, the department's official service level targets for customer interaction (e.g., target wait time, target response time) and whether those targets were met in each year.

We said

Thank you for your request.

The UK Statistics Authority and its executive office, the Office for National Statistics, has the statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. We do not have customers or provide customer services as those terms are usually understood. We do, however, have an information email and call centre, through which the general public can engage with us, so have answered in this context. 

Information relating to total calls, average call wait time and the percentage of calls answered within target times can be found in the associated download. To note, metrics are recorded by calendar year rather than financial year as supplied by 8x8, our switchboard service provider. Those quoted in this response are for our general enquiry line, which most closely matches your area of interest.

We no longer take live general enquiry calls, so statistics are available up to April 2025. We made changes in May 2025 to route enquiries more efficiently, which included direct routing options for the most common telephone enquiries (business and social survey support), directing general enquiries to email or voice message, and providing more comprehensive contact information on our website.

There are no organisation-wide service standards so response times will differ depending on the individual or team approached, the complexity of the enquiry and the availability of resource and expertise within that team. For example, if a query requires expert statistical input, it will take longer to resolve during a busy data production period. The shortest time (for straight-forward general enquiries) is usually between 1 to 2 working days; whereas the longest (for complex population or health data queries, for example) can be up to 10 to 15 working days. For general enquiries, we aim to respond as soon as possible, often within an hour or two of receipt, or send a holding reply if the enquiry will take more time to investigate. We are largely dependent on subject matter experts for all but the most common enquiries, so do not give a blanket response time for this reason. 

There have been no formal complaints about delays, unanswered calls or poor customer service provision during this time.

We do not have departmental targets for customer service provision, so cannot provide the information requested in the final point, beyond what was provided in support of points one and two.