This in from Andrew Turner’s office, in their own words. Ed
Tax office phone number is now 0300 200 3300
The Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, called a debate in Westminster yesterday to ask the Minister for HM Treasury, David Gauke MP, to intervene to overturn plans by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to close the Isle of Wight tax office next year.
Like other Government departments, HMRC needs to make savings in their running costs. One of the major ways they plan to do this is by closing all 281 of their enquiry centres across the country, including the office based at Broadlands House in Newport.
Mr Turner said:
“I felt I had to raise this issue with the Minister before the end of the consultation period, as the implications for the Island are serious. If HMRC have their way Islanders are quite likely to have no easy way to obtain face-to-face help with queries on their tax affairs.
“Not only that but nine Tax Advisors, with a combined 186 years experience, would lose their jobs or be paid to move away, to be replaced by a ‘mobile team’ based who knows where. It is planned they would see Island residents to discuss tax issues at local community centres, libraries or, in exceptional circumstances, in their homes. Local staff were told categorically that the mobile team would be based on the mainland and would not form part of those plans. There seems to have been no real attempt to understand the costs or the logistics of delivering services on an Island.
“As I said in my speech, it is like something out of ‘Yes Minister’ – I can picture Sir Humphrey’s self-satisfied smile now.”
HMRC also plan to invest in new telephony and staff training to provide a top-class contact centre where people can phone either a freephone or cheap rate number to get advice. HMRC say they plan to replace the current scheme with a system more tailored to people’s needs.
After Mr Turner’s contribution, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Exchequer Secretary, Katherine McKinnell MP, commended Mr Turner for securing “an extremely timely and important debate”, going on to say:
“His record of assiduously standing up for his constituents and their interests is well known to the House.”
The Minister said during the debate :
“My hon. Friend asked about the situation on the Isle of Wight. I think that he has been informed that a post in the mobile advisory service will not be available for those who are based there, but let me reassure him that that has not been decided… No decisions have been taken on where the people serving the Isle of Wight will be based. I shall take on board my hon. Friend’s comments and his representation that some of those providing the mobile service on the Isle of Wight should be permanently based there. I can provide no guarantees, but equally I can provide some reassurance that no decisions have been made on that front.”
Mr Turner responded:
“I am very pleased to hear that HMRC are still open to listening to sensible proposals – but that is not what local staff were told. I shall be following this up with a letter to the Chief Executive of HMRC to point out what the Minister has said.”
Image: graziano88 under CC BY 2.0
