It seems that the government and HMRC are considering outsourcing certain IT functions to processing offices in India, in an attempt to save £205M per annum.
HMRC and its main IT contractors Capgemini and Fujitsu are considering outsourcing certain IT functions to India under the Quantum cost reduction project.
Staff, the media and politicians speculate that this may mean that tax records will be sent abroad. HMRC deny this.
However, a leaked memo states that the Quantum project included looking at the "potential off-shoring of some future work".
That would indicate that some records will be sent offshore.
Given the lax security standards of Asian processing centres, this proposal needs to be nipped in the bud ASAP.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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This isn't surprising. Its only a matter of time until most of it is outsourced to agencies and private sector companies in this country and abroad.
ReplyDeleteThis may well turn out to be the thin edge of the wedge....What next? Call centers, I had to leave my old telephone service provider because I could neither understand the Indian accent of the operator nor get them to understand what I was getting at.....Now telecommunications are simple, taxation under Labour is not, imagine trying to make someone who's first language is not English understand a complicated taxation enquiry......With the telecommunications company, I had a choice, I chose another that had English call centers, with tax, one has no choice.
ReplyDeleteSo much for Mr Brown's mantra of British jobs for British workers!!
Here at HMRC, I'm not exactly suprised at this.
ReplyDeleteAll this government wants to do is run HMRC to a price.
More proof that they don't give a fuck about its taxpayers and it's staff.
This topic was denied on the HMRC intranet this morning:
ReplyDeletespokesman for the department said the Aspire contract did not allow IT services to be delivered from outside the UK and that taxpayer information would not go offshore.
A spokesman for HMRC said: "The contract does not permit IT services to be delivered from outside of the UK and we currently have no plans to change this.
"HMRC is constantly looking at how it can provide better value for money to the taxpayer.
"Project Quantum is specifically focused on value for money in the IT field."
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Well the first rule is if there's been an official denial then it must be true.
ReplyDeleteThis really is quite a claim. I would be absolutely astonished if the government tried it - it would be political suicide! Let's have a reference, Ken.
ReplyDeleteNHS information is already in the hands of Indian call centres.
ReplyDelete"Internal" processes regarding supplier invoices and payments is already gets dealt with in India and plenty of times whilst working for them it was like talking to a brick wall.