A new survey has dismissed claims that large chunks of the UK's call centre industry are planning to relocate to countries with lower labour costs.

The report, from consultants Incomes Data Services, claims that steady growth in demand for 24-hour banking, information and leisure services is fuelling continued expansion in the sector, making mass relocation less likely.

Three in five British call centres have taken on extra staff this year and expect to do so again in the year ahead, while just one in five has cut jobs, the report found.

"Recent suggestions that UK call centres will see their activities transferred to India or South Africa in the near future are ill-founded," IDS said in a statement.

Wage pressures

Several European companies operate call centres in India, South Africa, and China, taking advantage of lower labour costs and less onerous employment regulations.

Last month, the head of HSBC bank Sir Keith Whitson suggested another possible reason for relocating when he said that Asian call centre staff perform better than their UK counterparts.

However, the IDS survey uncovered some potential weaknesses in the British call centre economy.

Many call centres are finding it difficult to recruit staff, especially in the south-west of England, Yorkshire, and the West Midlands.

And the lack of qualified staff is bidding up wages in the sector, with the average call centre salary rising 4.6% on the year to �12,400, IDS said.