Here is a question posed by someone to me on Twitter.
Seeing as the new benefit system is to be called "Universal Credit", does that mean HMRC and DWP could be merged?
My answer was as follows, given that the merger between IR and Customs has been a disaster I would caution against it.
What are your views?
All views and opinions welcome.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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If I worked at DWP I would be afraid, very afraid.
ReplyDeleteNo but HMRC will continue to downsize the Enquiry Centres will all but be eradicated by 2015.
ReplyDeleteThe tax credit office will close obviously that will be where the next redundancies come from, Child Benefit will no doubt transfer to DWP and HMRC will probably be a few call centre/strategic sites like was planned, the Universal Credit has given the management the chance to reduce the department further.
By the time UB is fully implemented in 2017 Straithie and her fellow ExComs will be enjoying their substantial pensions.
If they did plan to merge the two I don't think it would be before 2015 remember there are going to be a lot of job losses elsewhere when all the benefits are abolished and also remember UB will only be able to be claimed online so a lot of staff will not be needed.
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ReplyDeleteHere come the Borg. Merge them into the HMRC collective. Plug them in and watch them become drones for everyone to despise and fear.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a joke.
ReplyDeleteThe merger between Customs and the Revenue is a template on how NOT to merge departments.
Theyre now 6 years into it and its got worse rather than improve so throwing another department in to the shit wouldnt exactly help. Having said that there are clowns sitting in whitehall who are paid hundreds of thousands to dream these kind of things up.
Then they piss off or retire when the whole thing goes belly up and thousands have lost their jobs.
There is no way that they would merge the two. DWP will go back to paying tax credits & presumably later on the new Universal Credit.
ReplyDeleteHMRC will go back to just collecting in money instead of paying it out as well. I think the council staff need to be more afraid than HMRC
strathie screwed dwp before she left and is doing the same to hmrc its only a matter of time until she dismantles the welfare state and the tax system. she was one of the collective who went to the govt saying how much she could cut after all
ReplyDeleteTax Credits won't go back to DWP HMRC gas already said they putting no more money into Tax Credits, the internet portal has been abandoned altogether (heard a rumour was going to be brough back this April).
ReplyDeleteThey will just ride out the benefits as they are until the UB gets established. I can't see them wanting to retrain DWP staff for a system that's got two or three years left.
It's all UB now no money for anything else.
The four year plan will keep things as they are, with natural reduction, office closes and reducing F2F the main money savers and then the plan after that, well, that will make what's happened in last five years and next four look like child's play.
Anyone thinking they might be working in HMRC after 2014 needs to think about their future.
Just think how many work in Tax Credits in Netherton and Newcastle who will lose their jobs because DWP will transfer their own first to UB, then reducing CB for high earners will mean job losses, the EC's will all but be finished, the Contact Centres will need less staff as calls will drop substanially. PAYE will be real time less processing, tax avoiders will be chased up by private companies... what will be left?
"what will be left?"
ReplyDeleteA shit service that costs a lot less than the current shit service.