Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of distanced working during the covid-19 lockdown on the proposals for the closure of local branches of his Department's offices.
HMRC remain committed to their locations strategy of moving to regional centres and specialist sites. Timescales for some existing office closures are currently under review due to the impact of COVID-19 on the construction of some regional centres. As is always the case, if there are ways in which HMRC can improve how they deliver their vital public services then they will seek to implement those improvements. This includes reviewing how HMRC have been able to respond to COVID-19 and determining whether and how they might be able to sustain any changes to ways of working that are proven to lead to better outcomes for both HMRC and taxpayers.