Residents Frustrated by 'Unreachable' Helpline

9.23.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 15th Nov 2004

Many residents face the problem of official telephone numbers for pensions, social security, visas and passports which never answer. A new level of absurdity has been reached with a national insurance telephone line - vital for people to work - which is totally unobtainable for residents in Richmond, Kingston and 18 other postcodes in south-west and south London.

Residents who ring the Department of Work and Pensions, 01708 814440, to arrange to get a National Insurance number will find it is never answered. Even the local Citizens Advice Bureau regards it as "unreachable".

Vincent Cable MP said: "I have raised this ludicrous position with the Minister for Work and the Chief Executive of JobCentre Plus. Local residents who are starting work for the first time and don't have a NI number have hit a brick wall when they seek help to make their employment legal. People are ringing from early in the morning but never get through. It is bad enough trying to deal with banks and massive companies by phone but some of these government agencies are so inefficient that it beggars belief."