Jobs axe fear in Yorkshire as HMRC embarks on restructuring drive

Among the offices affected is Sheffield, where 500 jobs are at risk, according to Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh, who was angry the news had been “snuck out” in a parliamentary recess.

HMRC said they were planning to close 137 offices under a modernisation programme, including 12 in Bradford, Grimsby, Harrogate, Hull and Leeds, with a new regional centre in Leeds, opening by 2019-2020.

The PCS union said the cuts would pose a “significant threat” to the operation of HMRC as well as to the working lives of staff. The union called for full public and parliamentary scrutiny of the decision.

Ms Haigh also said she would be seeking answers from Ministers - saying for thousands of staff it would “be simply impossible to move their families and lives to a regional centre in Leeds.”

But HMRC said its modernisation programme includes investment in new online and other services to make it easier for people to pay their tax and at present there were too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices. The new regional centre would employ between 4,100 and 4,400 people - 40 per cent of the HMRC total.

They said they would help staff who could not move find new roles in the civil service or outside to minimise redundancies.

John Allan, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said members had repeatedly complained about the difficulties getting practical help from HMRC: “The current online offering is limited, often hampered by poor broadband connectivity, and the phone help line is hard to navigate with long waiting times.

“Over the long-term, this modernisation programme must bring substantial benefits and efficiency savings. In the short-term, however, members will be concerned that the closure of these tax offices will simply compound existing problems.”