The report by National Audit Office revealed that customers cumulatively spent 798 years on hold waiting to speak with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in 2022-23 – more than double the time spent waiting in 2019-20. The public spending watchdog said that a variety of factors had contributed to poor call handling performance by HMRC. They included funding pressures, job cuts and a drive to reduce costs by encouraging people to manage their tax affairs online. The average time spent waiting on the phone to speak to an adviser in the 11 months to February 2024 was almost 23 minutes, the NAO said, wel…