Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposed closures of HM Revenue and Customs' enquiry centres on people in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched a new service across the UK on 29 May 2014 to support people who need extra help in getting their tax and benefits right. This replaced HMRC’s network of 281 Enquiry Centre’s which closed to the public on 30 June 2014.
The decision to make this change was based on extensive evaluation from independent customer research, a 10-week public consultation exercise and a successful pilot of the new service which took place in the North East of England involving the closure of 13 Enquiry Centres from June to Dec 2013.
The evaluation assessed the impact and effect on rural areas, transport links and costs to customers.
The new service is more accessible to these communities, since customers are able to arrange appointments with HMRC at locations convenient to them, this includes visits to their home if appropriate.
Asked by: Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's regional location strategy for HM Revenue and Customs offices is up to 2020.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reshaping to become a smaller, more highly skilled organisation to meet the efficiencies required by the Spending Reviews, 2010 and 2013.
Its strategic intention is to move to fewer, larger regional centres, supplemented by other offices to provide specialist resources or touch down facilities for mobile staff. HMRC is considering what the offices of the future will look like and where they will be located. It is currently involving all staff in a national conversation on progress and expects more detail to be available at the end of 2015.
In 2012 HMRC gave a commitment to retaining a presence in 16 key centres until at least 2020.