HMRC forced into rethink as plans to close offices is branded ‘unrealistic’

The National Audit Office (NAO) said HMRC has now described as “unrealistic” its original proposals, to shut 170 offices and replace them with 13 large regional hub centres augmented by four specialist sites and a London headquarters.

The plan threatened with closure 17 offices across Scotland including Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee and two large centres in East Kilbride.

These had been slated to be replaced with two offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow as a result of the cost cutting move.

The original plans had been projected to save tens of millions of pounds for the taxpayer while improving efficiency and working conditions for staff.

However, the NAO said HMRC had underestimated the scale of the disruption involved, with up to 5,000 staff expected to leave as a result of the proposed move, while it had been unable to find suitable properties in some of its chosen locations.

“During the transition to regional centres, HMRC must ensure that its service to taxpayers and its ability to collect tax revenue are not impaired,” the NAO said.

“It has concluded that its original plans were over-optimistic about the availability of suitable properties and carried too high a risk of disruption to its business, as they involved moving or replacing too many staff too quickly, while delivering other major change programmes in parallel.”

An HMRC spokesman said: “HMRC’s employees are currently spread across 159 offices, 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, while delivering annual savings to the taxpayer of over £80 million from 2025/26.”