Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the planned closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland on the administration of the Scottish rate of income tax.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new regional centres in Scotland in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 full time equivalent posts by 2025. As work is transferred to the regional centres HMRC plans to close ten offices in Scotland by 2020. The changes are part of a ten-year transformation programme to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. Scotland has 12 per cent of HMRC’s total workforce and that will not change with modernisation.

HMRC believes that its responsibilities will be unaffected by the changes. Staff are receiving guidance and training to deal with any enquiries relating to the Scottish rate of income tax, as with any other tax issues.