Almost one in every 10 calls people make to Islington Town Hall’s main switchboard ends in failure, new figures reveal.

Last year, an average of 9.14 per cent of attempts to call Islington Council were abandoned, meaning either the caller hung up or was cut off.

Cllr John Gilbert, Islington Lib Dem’s spokesman on performance issues, said: “These figures really aren’t great if you’re a resident ringing the only number the council directs you to. And these figures are just for abandoned calls, never mind people being kept waiting in a queue longer than they should.”

Cllr Andy Hull, Islington Council’s executive member for finance said: “Call volume is rising as more residents are impacted by the government’s welfare reforms including Bedroom Tax and the Benefits Cap. Meanwhile more are accessing our Resident Support Scheme.

“At the same time, the number of calls being abandoned is falling as is the average waiting time - down to 37 seconds.

“Due to the government’s massive cuts, we need to find efficiencies. Vacating our large office at Highbury House will save us over £1m a year while moving staff into our redesigned customer centre will provide a better service to residents.”