Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Vikki Slade has called for a new “Retiree Red Phone” hotline to help pensioners access urgent tax support after figures showed that HMRC has failed to answer more than eighty million calls in the past ten years.
Research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found that one in five calls to HMRC went unanswered, leaving millions without help. In 2024/25 alone, six million calls went unanswered, meaning around seventeen thousand people a day were unable to reach the tax service.
Vikki raised the issue in Parliament this week, highlighting the case of a Wimborne constituent who waited seven months to receive a £300 tax refund despite repeated follow-ups and a formal complaint. She said the case “shows just how slow and inaccessible HMRC has become.”
The latest figures show the average waiting time for callers this year was over eighteen minutes, one of the longest delays in the past decade.
Vikki said it was unacceptable that local residents could not get the support they need, especially as more pensioners are being drawn into paying tax. She urged ministers to act quickly to improve access and ensure people can reach help when they need it most.
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