Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if will publish the names of umbrella companies to which payments were made by (a) suppliers, (b) agencies and (c) partners engaged by HMRC in each year since December 2010 to date; and if he will make a statement.

In accordance with departmental retention policy and in preparation to ensure compliance with the 2017 reforms to the off-payroll working rules, HMRC only hold a complete central record of departmental engagements from 2016 to present.

The majority of HMRC’s contracts are for contingent labour via an agency, and HMRC use the Crown Commercial Service’s framework contracts for this. These contractors form a flexible complement to HMRC’s workforce, sourced through an employment agency.

With contingent labour there is always at least one agency between HMRC and the individual contractor, although in practice this contract can be further sub-contracted, meaning there are multiple agencies between the department and the contractor themselves.

HMRC would hold a contractual relationship with either the recruitment agency or service provider rather than any umbrella company and are not involved in the payment arrangements of individual contractors.