Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about office space at the Waterfront in Dudley.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the transfer of staff employed by HMRC at the Waterfront offices in Dudley.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the HMRC offices at the Waterfront in Dudley are owned or leased by his Department; and what assessment has been made of the costs to the public purse of closing those office.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC had two buildings in Waterfront Business Park. HMRC lease the office at Unit 7 Waterfront Business Park, Brierley Hill, Dudley.
Bridge House, Waterfront East was vacated in February 2017, and the staff moved into Unit 7 Waterfront Business Park.
Moving to regional centres will save more than £300 million up to 2025. The Programme will deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in 2025-26, rising to around £90 million by 2028, while improving customer service and modernising how HMRC work.
It also avoids costs of £75m per annum from 2021, when the current PFI contract with Mapeley (the STEPS contract) comes to an end.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish a task force comprised of his Department, the Department for Work and Pensions, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, advice agencies and training organisations to support staff who lose their job in the event of the proposed closure of the HMRC Waterfront offices in Dudley.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill them to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assistance the Government plans to provide to staff made redundant by HMRC at the Waterfront offices in Dudley in terms of advice, financial support, retraining and job search to help them obtain alternative employment in the event of the proposed closure of that office.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill them to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the transfer of staff employed by HMRC at its Waterfront offices in Dudley to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what alternatives to redundancy his Department has considered for staff employed by HMRC at its Waterfront offices in Dudley.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse will be of making staff employed by HMRC at its Waterfront offices in Dudley redundant.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet the hon. Member for Dudley North and representatives of HMRC staff based at the Waterfront in Dudley to discuss the future of their office.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has approached the hon. Member for Dudley North to offer a visit to the HMRC office in Brierley Hill. I understand he has accepted the offer and will be going there in the next few weeks, where HMRC officials will be on hand to answer his questions.