Digging into HMRC’s performance statistics

HMRC is required to publish its performance statistics to measure how it performs against its targets in key areas, eg customer satisfaction, telephone calls, correspondence, complaints.  

While on first read the latest performance figures for September 2024 appear to paint a relatively positive picture, a different picture evolves if you delve a little deeper to question how they are compiled and more notably what they do not include.

The headline figure for HMRC is the Customer Satisfaction percentage which at 80% is HMRC’s target figure. However, this statistic may not be a true reflection of the public perception as it fails to take account of a number of factors, including:

• The satisfaction survey only considers phone, webchat and digital services interaction and excludes written communication which comprises over a one third of the total communication with HMRC.
• HMRC asks customers if they are prepared to take part in the satisfaction survey at the end of a call/digital interaction. It therefore does not include those who choose not to participate in the survey which may be a significant number.
• There will also be a significant element of the measured exchanges which involve agents, who will be dealing with HMRC on a virtual daily basis on a variety of client issues and will have neither the time nor inclination to leave feedback on each occasion.
• The largest missing number in the statistics are those taxpayers who are unsuccessful in repeated attempts to get through to HMRC helplines and after a long wait eventually give up in frustration. It would seem this unmeasured category would undoubtedly not fall within the definition of either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ which make up the 80% figure.   

It is also noticeable that the HMRC statistics have now stopped measuring the telephone wait times as a customer service performance indicator. This is as the average wait times have progressively increased year on year; 2021/22: 12mins 22 seconds, 2022/23: 16 mins 24 seconds and 2023/24: over 23 mins. 

It was undoubtedly a contributing factor in the HMRC announcement in March 2024 of its intention to close the self-assessment helpline for a six-month period between April and September 2024 to enable HMRC to focus its attention on other areas. An announcement which was met with consternation by the public, the media and professional bodies alike, resulting in a rapid U-turn. 

At first glance, HMRC’s performance in answering calls has improved. The latest statistics for September 2024 show that the average time to answer a call was 14mins 05 seconds, the lowest it has been in over two years. That is undoubtedly good news for taxpayers trying to get through on the phone lines if it is maintained. 

The slightly troubling caveat is that the number of calls made to HMRC in the period to 30 September 2024 is way down on the prior year, over 1.26m fewer calls. In September 2024 alone, there were 442,420 fewer calls made to HMRC compared to September 2023 and the number of calls handled by HMRC advisers was 200,000 less.

The Autumn Budget committed to providing HMRC with additional staff to hopefully reverse the longer-term trend of longer call wait times. HMRC will also be hoping that the investments into technology, such as the HMRC mobile app, are starting to pay off and that they will see permanent reductions in the number of calls made to them. 

The risk for self-assessment taxpayers who have not yet submitted their tax returns is that more people have simply left the preparation of their tax returns until later in the year. That could mean that even more pressure is put on HMRC’s customer support team in the coming months than usual and potentially a return to longer waiting times on the phone. Those who have been putting off dealing with their tax return may want to tackle it sooner rather than later to be on the safe side.