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.

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.