Government U-turn on rip-off rate phone lines

It’s been an 18-month fight but this week the Department for Work and Pensions agreed to stop using rip-off rate phone lines, including for the beleaguered Universal Credit.

Just a few months ago, Iain Duncan Smith was dismissing my arguments against 084 numbers, saying the high costs were “beyond DWP control” and even launching new claim lines for Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit with 084 numbers which can cost up to 41p a minute.

But at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week, his Permanent Secretary promised to replace all 084 numbers with 03 lines which will make calls to DWP free or cheaper for most people. And the Cabinet Office’s Permanent Secretary said the same policy would be set across government for more than 120 similar lines which last year took around 130 million calls.

It’s a humiliating climb-down for a Secretary of State who has no comprehension or care about the added pressure he is piling on to low income families and how so many people are put off seeking the help they need because of the high cost of the calls.

My report in May, The Telephone Tax, revealed nearly two-thirds of government services have 084 phone lines – rising to more than 80 per cent within DWP – including for disability benefits, pensions, carers support, bereavement advice, financial crisis payments, insolvency, national minimum wage and student loans.

I’ve heard from people who say they regularly find themselves on hold to these numbers for at least half an hour and report a simple change in circumstances costing £40 in phone calls.

The widespread use of 084 numbers is a telephone tax on millions of the hard-pressed people the government is there to help, who have to use the lines to contact public agencies.

I began campaigning to stop the use of 084 lines by GPs and government departments early in 2012.

My evidence persuaded the National Audit Office to launch an inquiry, which reported in July, and now the PAC hearing.

The Cabinet Office has admitted there has been no policy or activity on this for three years, since guidance issued under Labour in 2010.

Now, finally, they say they can come up with a new government approach within a few weeks.

That they can do it quickly, and at a cost the DWP described this week as “neither here nor there”, is an insult to the many thousands of people who have suffered as the government ploughed on with this rip-off policy, which meant the government enjoyed lower phone bills at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable.

This policy U-turn is a victory for them and for campaigning through Parliament, which has shown this week that it can make a big difference to people’s day-to-day lives.

John Healey is the MP for Wentworth & Dearne.