Tax office closure plans ‘ill-conceived’

Aug 15 2008 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PLANS to close the HM Revenue and Customs office (HMRC) in Perth, with the loss of 17 jobs, were branded yesterday as “ill-conceived and badly thought out.”

And union officials believe that proposals to transfer staff to either Dundee or Glenrothes could cost the Government tens of thousands of pounds in travelling costs alone – and account for a 10% loss in productivity.

The concerns are contained in an eight-page document drawn up by John Oswald, chairman of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union in the Water Vennel office in Perth, and secretary Jane Edwards.

In their wide-ranging submissions, they point out that there are many fragile village communities in Perth and Kinross, for whom Perth itself is a natural centre providing all residents’ needs.

They add: “It is with this background that Perth needs to be viewed as an important town in Scotland, one that deserves and desperately needs provision of a ‘tax office’ and not a place that should be regarded as an unimportant or non-strategic location.”

Perth, they point out, is in the top 10 UK centres for handling inquiries from migrant workers. Many of them are low paid and travelling to another office would be “financially demanding, if not impossible.”

The union also looked at the implications of additional travel for the 17 staff that would have to move.

“We are told that the object of this exercise is to reduce costs, yet we calculate that the cost of paying 17 people to move to Dundee, in excess fares alone, would be £37,510 over a 12-month period. For Glenrothes, the total is £50,600.”

The union conclude: “Closing this office will impact on the local community and on the local economy.”

The two-month consultation period over the threatened closure of the Perth office has now been concluded and a decision on its future is expected later this year, possibly mid-November.

Meanwhile, Pete Wishart MP yesterday urged constituents to join him in backing the campaign to save Perth's tax office by signing an online petition, posted on the official Downing Street website by the Civil Service trades union, PCS.

The on-line petition has been set-up at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveHMRCPerth/