HMRC will be one of the government organisations moving staff out of Whitehall and into new offices in Canary Wharf.
The Cabinet Office announced last week that almost 6,000 full-time civil service and public sector jobs are to move from central London to 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf by 2018. The site will be leased from Barclays for 15 years.
Civil Service World notes that job ads posted on Civil Service Jobs in recent days make clear that HMRC will be one of those shifting staff across the capital.
"Please note that the London office (100 Parliament Street) will be moving to a transitional site in summer 2017.Not everyone will move, an HMRC briefing note issued a while ago said:
The location will be 10 South Colonnade, London, E14 4PU."
"Of course, the work that we do means that a small number of us will always need to be near ministers.
That's why we're going to keep 100 Parliament Street, although fewer of us will work there. The space we vacate will be used by other government departments."
Fortunately, unlike other HMRC property contracts, HMRC does not face the embarrassment of dealing with a tax avoiding company. Barclays shut its tax avoidance unit in 2013.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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They closed HMRC offices across the UK - many in deprived areas which served the community, created employment opportunities & a committed workforce and had the benefit of cheap rents - caused upheaval to taxpayers and staff, apparently to save money.
ReplyDeleteNow they are moving to Canary Wharf, in addition to retaining a half-empty 100 Parliament St with 100% of the running costs. And the estate is costing how much of our money I wonder?
Maybe the motivations were not really estate costs but rather to reduce the overall staff numbers, and in particular make redundant, dismiss or otherwise unlawfully hound out more experienced staff who cost more money in wages and who have accrued more rights. No thinking from the incompetents 'running' the place as to the morals or ethics or indeed the legal position of such a repugnant strategy or to the fact the loss of such staff directly undermines the most important issue of supposedly providing a competent level of service to the public and to the exchequer? But when the civil service code REQUIRES them to be honest and act with integrity I can't believe they would tell lies, would they?
DeleteSadly I have found out HMRC are dishonest. I now have to work on the basis they are telling lies until I can conclusively verify they are not.
DeleteCanary Wharf is not a cheap area in which to be based. We await publication of the details as to the costings, the business case for the location, the value for money tests and the cost-benefit ratio analysis.
ReplyDeleteIf they are keeping their Parliament Street HQ, then on earth can be any plausible business case for the move to the expensive City of London? There is, as a fact, cheaper accommodation available in Greater London and other parts of the UK, so once again this appears to be a waste of taxpayers hard earned money.
What do PCS union have to say about this?
Re the above 12/12 @ 14:22- does anyone remember a first hand account on here a few months back from an HMRC employee about the state of their building, leaking roof and no working toilets etc. Contrast that with the plush accommodation being provided at Canary Wharf for the predominately senior HMRC staff. Parity? Equality?
DeleteIt stinks but I expect nothing less from HMRC.
DeletePCS will say nothing. PCS are also HMRC employees who have to be friendly with their managers. The arse-licking will begin in earnest on a whole new level to see who gets to be in what location.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a bit fed-up with the anti-PCS posts here and guess that they are all coming from the same two or three persons. Get a life you saddoes and concentrate, instead, on promoting the positive aspects of your 'rival' alleged trade union. Perhaps you could start a 'PCS Is Shite' blog and see how popular that is..?
DeletePCS union are an absolute disgrace. Their ethics are little better than their mates at Hmrc. PCS are more concerned with the Corbyn & McDonnell far left than little members jobs. The members should fight back - leave the union and stop those Pcs people taking your money to fund their political games.
DeleteWhen you have serious problems with Hmrc management's misconduct you can't rely on Pcs to do a single thing to help - more people are waking up to the reality that unions like pcs are part of the establishment and 2016 has shown the world no longer believes the establishment has the answers to the problems - think Trump & Farrage & Brexit etc. In the UK, the Conservatives are the workers party now, trade unions are largely irrelevant.
PCS used to offer members in my branch free KFC meals to attend AGMs. While most people like a KFC meal, it says something if people don't want to voluntarily attend and might attract the wrong type.
DeleteAlso a lot PCS reps I knew acted very left wing but when it came down to doing the right thing - your serious injustice or their promotion, guess what they chose? Some have said PCS are part of the problem at HMRC and I cannot disagree with them. There ain't no hypocrite like a socialist hypocrite, so they say.
What kind of 'wrong type'???? People with a food addiction?
DeleteNo, I was thinking more of those acting out of self-interest. The "what's in it for me types". PCS need intelligent, skilled & objective reps who feel genuinely angry about injustice and angry about certain managers running riot within HMRC.
DeleteHa ha! You saddoes - you took the bait - well done! Thanks, also, for making me chuckle with your "pcs are part of the establishment" and "Conservatives are the workers party now" comments. You're so hilarious you should be on the telly!
Delete"PCS will say nothing" - Succinctly sums up PCS on so many different issues in just fours words!!!
DeleteDoughnuts are a big favourite - they're used as a motivation tool (apparently).
DeletePCS give equal service to members but some members are more equal than others.
DeleteWhere I worked PCS were always willing to support the wrongdoers - we all know the types, the lazy, the incompetent and even those accused of misconduct and crime. Some criminals probably retained their HMRC jobs thanks to PCS union.
DeleteWhen hard working members were targeted for bullying by disturbed or inadequate managers etc, up to and including violence against the victim which resulted in unlawful departures, PCS went missing at best or at worst sided with the corrupt management.
To say PCS have it all wrong would be a understatement. They are job destroyers and enemies of hard workers.
I think PCS union are like fraudsters - they take your money and offer no adequate service in return. My PCS Union rep was totally corrupt.
DeleteHey! I repeat my challenge, you anti-PCS two or three people: set up your own PCS Is Shite blog - if it's as bad as you say you'll surely get loads of traffic and attention (but I suspect that you won't - unless the few of you who exist spend all day supporting each others' posts - like you do on here).
DeleteMy advice to the above 'challenge' is you really shouldn't bother - the irrelevant PCS are not worthy of such free publicity.
DeleteHey! 07:55 your 'advice' sucks and when you speak of 'free publicity' why don't you attempt to publicise your own (truly) irrelevant alleged trade union? I expect that, because it has virtually no members, and there's no way that you can support said virtually no members, you won't crawl from under your keystones (or RCTU or whatever). Just give it a rest, eh, saddoes?
DeleteShouldn't you be resting up, Mark?
DeleteThere is a PCS rep in my building who goes above and beyond what is expected of him, even spending his own personal time to help those being bullied by management. Having said that, there are other PCS reps in the building who are backstabbing shites, who actively side with management, such as telling disabled staff in tears to "make more of an effort". To the poster complaining about anti-PCS bias, come on, be honest, are they really the Union staff deserve?
DeleteIt doesn't help that Mark Serwotka is a wanker. Remember his pledge to only take a living wage if elected head of the union? He sure as shit doesn't.
Wrt 16/12 20:47 I have personal experience as a victim of HMRC's misconduct. I also have experience of PCS Union's misconduct. I am aware I am not the only victim.
DeleteNevertheless, as someone with integrity, I am prepared to say it as it is and be objective. I agree with the essence of the above comment. Yes there are some PCS reps who go above & beyond, often in their own time, to help members. Sadly other PCS reps are, with the greatest possible respect, unscrupulous and shameless champagne socialists, Mark Serwotka included. My PCS rep tried to HELP A BULLYING LAW BREAKING MANAGER - a manager who became so empowered by this collusion that they went on to commit a crime against me. I suffered the full & severe immoral consequences of HMRC's unrelenting thuggery while the law breaking manager avoided prosecution, or even independent investigation, for their misconduct. Do I think PCS union condone such misconduct and collusion? You bet I do.
The nonsense about having to be near Cabinet Ministers is the same crap that was wheeled out in 1988 in Customs and Excise as senior management refused to get shunted up to Salford/Manchester -how long from Canary Wharf to Westminster , 40 mins ? the reason is that rents are a third of central London and as a lot of staff will not fancy a 3 hour round commute and a paycut to boot in commuting costs they will bugger off -incidentally got to love the recent graduate recruitment exercise with " competitive pay " , who said HMRC had no sense of humour !
ReplyDeleteIf HMRC offer "competitive pay" which similar job role out there offers less exactly? Does bullying and discrimination all come as part of the package?
DeleteSo who is getting commission in HMRC for this deal?
ReplyDeleteHMRC are good and honest. Aren't they?
DeleteWho is watching the watchers? In any large organisation there is a distinct risk of dishonourable opportunists and the criminal fraternity running amok. One would imagine HMRC have an anti-corruption unit? Are they incompetent or have they been asleep on the job or is there something else going on there?
DeleteThere is a current proposal for civil servants to take an oath of office. A simple but good idea maybe. More important for society though is that HMRC take action against rogue employees.
???? and ????.
DeleteAnd dream on; it'll never happen.
I thought HMRC were moving out of 100PS so that workers from Paliamentary offices could move in whilst their offices, and Westminster, are being refurbished. So when these are refurbished and they move out, will HMRC be paying rent on an empty building? Or will HMRC move back there from Croydon/Canary Wharf/Stratford? Someone knows. Someone thinks us taxpayers are stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnd still no word of Stratford. My guess is they still haven't got a site. Anyone like to confirm or deny that?
ReplyDeleteI heard that they got gazumped on a building/site in Stratford. Anyone know if that's true? If so, what are we paying their management and commercial staff such hugely over-inflated salaries for?
DeleteYes I heard TFL were the gazumpers. Developers must have got wind HMRC want a presence in Stratford and have adjusted their rental rates accordingly. My thinking is HMRC will have to spend far more than they budgeted for and that any cost savings the relocation exercise would have brought in will be swallowed up, most likely a massive overspend.
DeleteInability to run an alcoholic binge in a brewing establishment!
DeleteClowns to the left...etc!
Pacesetter does not give the answers to real world problems, but it looks good on the old resume'.
Leones led by Equus Asinus
I don't know how many in HMRC are drawing a wage trying to find somewhere to rent? Go onto Google and see how much office space is available in the International Quarter and other nearby areas. I don't see where the hold ups are-HMRC have a budget (a substantial one probably), and developers don't want empty building on their hands.
ReplyDeleteHMRC : What a wonderful circus we work in !! :o
ReplyDeleteFull of clowns - yep 100% right there
ReplyDeleteWill they be told......http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38555938
ReplyDeleteThe BBC reported earlier that the NAO have said up to 38,000 HMRC staff could be put out of work. Not really news to those who keep an eye on HMRC but can't help feeling that in return for all that lost experience, the taxpayer will surely have to cough up for redundancy packages, and I hope I am wrong, but it would seems like it is so badly thought out false economy to say the least??? Should MTD be anything less than a 1000% success I would predict there'll be a few little service issues at HMRC in the coming years.
Delete