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Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services

Asked by Steve DarlingLiberal DemocratDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 10 March 2026UIN 116097

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent front-line customer support staff worked on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.

Answered by Andrew Western

The number of staff employed is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Product

Mar-21

Mar-22

Mar-23

Mar-24

Mar-25

Jan-26

RS Bereavement

610

550

490

410

500

500

  • The Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figure supplied is at March for each financial year, and January for 2026 as this is the most up to date Data held for this financial year.
  • The number Bereavement scheme staff has been derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM). This model gives an estimated FTE based on a point in time estimate by Line Managers, as recorded on our internal systems each month.
  • This total represents all aspects of Bereavement delivery, including Processing and Telephony.
  • Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 FTE.

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