Date: 7th June 2006
Released by: ANDREW TURNER

Island MP Andrew Turner has described his meeting with tax chiefs about the future of the Newport tax office as ‘very disappointing.’

Speaking after meeting Sir David Varney, chairman of HM Revenue and Customs, at Westminster, he said,

“I told Sir David of the concerns of my constituents who work in the tax office that

• they had been given partial or inaccurate information;
• there is no guarantee of retaining jobs in Newport;
• HMRC was losing a loyal, experienced and well-qualified workforce; and
• the office at Dodnor is inconvenient to staff and customers alike.

“He said that some staff questions could have been dealt with more quickly, but that some decisions genuinely hadn’t been taken so questions could not be answered – for instance, the effect of introducing mobile working to HMRC could be to safeguard some Island jobs from 2008, but he is not yet in a position to know.

“He does intend to provide work until 2008 for anyone who cannot relocate, but had taken no final decision beyond then. But those 49 or so staff would be given prior consideration for other Government jobs which become available on the Island.

“Finally he did accept that the Dodnor premises are not ideal and will seek a town centre location from 2008.”

Mr Turner added,

“HMRC is working within difficult constraints – too much property in the wrong places, with a high exit costs from leases; inadequate IT infrastructure to support mobile working; and a wholly unreasonable and arbitrary Government target of exporting jobs from the south-east and London to the north, without regard to the fact that IW unemployment is higher than some places in the north.”

END

Contact: Andrew Turner 01983 530808

Follows : Andrew Turner’s summary of meeting with Sir David Varney

I met Sir David Varney, Chairman of HM Revenue & Customs, yesterday to discuss the future of the Newport tax office.

I told Sir David of the concerns of my constituents that

• Tax office staff had been given partial or inaccurate information;
• There is no guarantee of retaining jobs in Newport;
• HMRC was losing a loyal, experienced and well-qualified workforce; and
• The new office at Dodnor is inconvenient to staff and customers alike.

He was concerned that HMRC staff in Newport felt they had not been properly informed of his proposals. He acknowledged that some questions had not been answered as quickly as might have been desirable, and told me that in other cases answers were not possible because decisions had not been made. I accept that people often greet such a claim with scepticism, but Sir David did make it clear that, for example, improving mobile communications could make home-working much more practical in two years' time than is the case now and that would impact on decisions to be taken then.

He accordingly gave no guarantees that any processing jobs will remain on the Island beyond 2008, but that is not to say that they will necessarily go. He does intend to maintain enough work for everyone unable to relocate (but this will decrease as numbers of staff decline). I did press for HMRC to consider relocating work to the Island (because of our low rents, and loyal and capable workforce), but Sir David told me that HMRC already has such an excess of office space that there could be no justification in so doing.

With regard to the future of those staff who cannot reasonably travel to the mainland - and HMRC accepts that there are at least 49 - Sir David reiterated that they would be given priority consideration for any Government post which becomes available on the Island, and accepted that those extend well beyond the single agency (Vehicle and Operating Services Agency) identified in the Impact Assessment.

Finally I pointed out that the new premises at Dodnor are very hard to access for staff and customers alike. Their choice seems to conflict with all Government advice on sustainability and access for vulnerable people. He recognised that somewhere nearer to the centre of Newport would have been preferable, but there were no suitable premises at the time. He undertook to seek such a location when the leases on both the Dodnor premises and the Annex run out.

I cannot say that I am happy with all these decisions and in particular I am disappointed that a decision was taken and implemented while I was making representations on your behalf. I am pleased that the search for offices after 2008 will focus more closely on the convenience of customers and staff who depend on public transport and I hope also that the option of distance-working will by then be available, which again should protect more jobs on the Island.