Almost half of the telephone calls made by the public seeking advice on pensions, welfare benefits and jobs went unanswered after the government closed local offices in an attempt to cut costs and make services more efficient, MPs reported yesterday.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the public accounts committee that scrutinises the effectiveness of public spending, said that people "left hanging on the phone would, no doubt, have met with derisive laughter the claim by the Department for Work and Pensions that it was modernising the delivery of welfare benefits".