Watchdog report puts taxman relocation on hold
The National Audit Office rules HMRC plan to relocate staff to regional centres unrealistic, accusing HMRC of underestimating the scale of disruption to service.
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Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, commented: "HMRC should step back and consider whether this strategy still best supports its wider business transformation and will deliver the sustainable cost savings it set out to achieve in the long run."Responding to the report, an HMRC spokesman said: "HMRC's employees are currently spread across offices around the country, many of which are a legacy of the 1960s and 1970s, ranging in size from around 6,000 people to fewer than 10."Our 13 new regional centres are an essential part of our work to modernise HMRC and provide an even better service for our customers, while delivering annual savings to the taxpayer of over £80 million from 2025/26. It also means modern offices for our staff, with the latest technology, better collaboration between teams, local training and wider career opportunities."He maintained that the NAO was "not comparing like for like" on costs. "Not only has the property market shifted over the course of the past year, but our most recent calculations now include updated day-to-day running costs and additional investment in two transitional sites which will ease the move for both staff and customers," he said.Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour's shadow treasury minister, said: “Despite issues such as the Panama Papers (about tax avoidance) dominating the headlines in 2016, it is clear that the government has failed to provide HMRC with the necessary resources to tackle tax avoidance."What is even more worrying is that today's report states that HMRC has yet to define fully how its plans will support better customer service and more efficient and effective compliance activities."The NAO report said HMRC's problems were exacerbated by a private finance initiative agreement with contractor Mapeley, which meant that it faced rising rental and service costs if the move was not completed by 2021.Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the PCS public service union, said it was now "imperative" the plans were halted to give Parliament and the public a chance to have their say. "Cutting thousands of HMRC staff in recent years has hit the services it provides to the public, yet the department and this government are ploughing ahead with poorly thought through plans that would mean thousands more job cuts," he said.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory Get access to our free Global Mobility Toolkit
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