"Building Our Future" Runs Into Resistance In Ealing

Ealing Council and Ealing Central & Acton MP Rupa Huq are fighting to prevent the closure of the borough’s HMRC office which could lead to the loss of 260 jobs.

HMRC has proposed that the office could close in 2020/21 as part of the latest phase of a restructure across the UK.

At a full council meeting on Tuesday (June 12) the council unanimously passed a motion to support members of the Ealing branch of the PCS Union, which is campaigning against the potential closure.

The motion read:

“The proposed closure of the HMRC Ealing office in the year 2020/21 will mean the loss of approx 260 quality jobs, of which 75% are carried out by female and ethnic minority workers.

This will mean HMRC no longer have a presence in Ealing. The loss to the local Ealing economy is estimated at approx one million pounds per year. This loss will inevitably have a detrimental impact on other businesses in the area that staff use. We call on Ealing Council to debate this issue, oppose the loss of jobs in Ealing and join the campaign to keep the office open beyond 2020/21.”

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

David Bunting To Become Interim HMRC General Counsel

Last week I noted that Gill Aitken, HMRC’s General Counsel and Solicitor, is to leave HMRC on 30 June, to take up a new role as Registrar at the University of Oxford.

Whilst HMRC start the "open" recruitment process an interim appointment will be made.

Step forward David Bunting, who currently works in the cross-government Border Delivery Group, as its interim general counsel and solicitor.

Civil Service World reports that Bunting trained in the Inland Revenue and has more than 20 years’ legal experience. He has led HMRC legal teams dealing with tax policy and legislation in relation to UK business and environmental taxes including Corporation Tax, VAT, Customs and Excise duties, oil and gas taxation, Landfill Tax, Climate Change Levy and betting and gaming duties. He has also led HMRC’s litigation activity.

In 2008 he became a senior civil servant, and in 2012 was appointed legal director at HMRC. In 2017 he moved to the Border Delivery Group – a cross-government team led by HMRC’s director general for border coordination Karen Wheeler, which focuses on the operational and practical impacts of Brexit on UK borders.

On 1 July, Bunting will become director general of the Solicitor’s Office and Legal Services Group and will join the department’s executive committee, reporting to chief executive Jon Thompson.

There will be an open recruitment process in the coming months to fill the role permanently, and HMRC said it would confirm any new arrangements in the Border Delivery Group in due course.
Aitken has been at the tax agency since 2014. Commenting on her departure, Thompson said: “She has helped to shape our departmental strategy and I’ll really miss her wise counsel.”

What's the betting that Bunting becomes permanent?

New arrangements in the Border Delivery Group will be announced (decided) in due course.


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Reneges On A Promise

HMRC staff at Sidlaw House in Dundee Technology Park had been told by HMRC that they would move over to the DWP to undertake Universal Credit work over the next three years.

However, HMRC has changed its plans and staff have now been told that no positions can be guaranteed with the DWP once the HMRC’s Tax Credits work in Dundee ends in three years’ time.

Dundee West MP Chris Law is quoted by The Courier:

“This is a devastating betrayal for the highly-skilled staff at Sidlaw House, many of whom have dedicated years of loyal service to HMRC, and I share their anger and disappointment in this Tory U-Turn following our campaign in 2015 that had secured work at the offices.

The UK Government gave me written assurances then that the staff at Sidlaw House would definitely be transferred to Universal Credit Services in the DWP, assurances that they have now ripped up.

This disgraceful decision by the Tories proves once again that they are more interested in needless cuts than protecting the jobs and livelihoods of the people of Dundee, and cannot be trusted to lead our city or our country.”

An HMRC spokesman said:

“In 2016, we announced that tax credits customer services advisers would be transferring to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

DWP will now be able to deliver as planned without the level of additional resource it originally expected, and so the managed moves of HMRC staff to DWP will not be going ahead as planned.

We will be doing everything we can to keep their skills, knowledge and experience, either in HMRC or elsewhere in the civil service, as the tax credits work they do reduces in the years ahead.”

No apology, simply a "promise" to do "everything..to keep their skills".

Well I don't think that "promise" is worth the paper it is printed on.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Dudley Closure Up For Parliamentary Debate

The Express & Star reports that Dudley North MP Ian Austin has urged Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey to rethink proposals that have put the jobs at risk of 250 civil servants based at the HMRC’s tax credits office at the Waterfront in Brierley Hill, Dudley.

He has secured a parliamentary debate on the issue Wednesday evening.

He will be using the debate to call on ministers to look again at the decision, keep the Brierley Hill offices open and ensure the highly-skilled HMRC staff are used to assist with the introduction of Universal Credit.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Congratulations East Kilbride?

The awards keep coming- East Kilbride- outstanding customer service pic.twitter.com/8fVkUKFjgW

— Mike Baker (@MikeABaker12) December 4, 2017

Hang on though, isn't East Kilbride closing?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The Best Laid Plans of Mice, Men and HMRC - Manchester Regional Centre Pushed Back

My thanks to a loyal reader who pointed me to a recent PCS statement regarding HMRC office closures.

It seems that there are scheduling changes, with the Manchester Regional Centre pushed back and closures elsewhere brought forward.

"HMRC has today (19 October) announced further changes to its ‘Building Our Future’ programme. These are essentially updates on two main areas: the Manchester regional centre dates; and updates for eight other offices.

Manchester Regional Centre

The estate negotiations on the location and buildings for the proposed Manchester Regional Centre are taking longer than the department had initially anticipated. This will mean that the Regional Centre will now pen at least a year late, and possibly even later than that. When it eventually opens it will now do so in two phases.

The overall capacity of the Regional Centre has not been confirmed, not least because there are considerations being made regarding the impact on HMRC jobs of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

As a consequence of the delay, the department has decided to extend the retention of Trinity Bridge House, Salford, until the 2027/28 year. Additionally, negotiations are being pursued to extend the leases for nearby Albert Bridge House and Ralli Quays.

Closure Dates Brought Forward Elsewhere
Further announcements have been made which affect members in nine other locations:
•    Netherton office is now planned to close in November 2018, and St Helens in January 2019. The proposed migration route for all three offices is to Imperial Court, Liverpool or St John’s House, Bootle.
•    Blackpool and Bolton office closures are being brought forward to January 2019 with the majority of members directed towards Trinity Bridge House or Albert Bridge House.
•    York is now planned to close in January 2019 with members moving to Castle House Leeds, and eventually on to the Leeds Regional Centre.
•    Worcester is now planned to close in January 2019 with members moving to Birmingham, City Centre House.
•    Closures of Royal House and the second floor of Regent House, both in Solihull, have been brought forward to January 2019, with members moving to Saphire East, Solihull before then moving to the future Birmingham Regional Centre.
•    Derby (Northgate House) is earmarked for closure in January 2019 with members moving to Castle Meadow House in Nottingham."

The best laid plans of mice, men and HMRC....

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Council Runs Scared of HMRC

It seems that North Lanarkshire Council is a wee bit afraid of HMRC.

That at least must be the conclusion to be drawn re the council's refusal to conduct an impact assessment of HMRC's closure of its Cumbernauld office.

Cumbernauld News reports that Stuart McDonald MP and Jamie Hepburn MSP, who represent the Cumbernauld area at Westminster and Holyrood respectively, addressed an open letter to NLC calling for research into the potential effect of the closure of HMRC’s Cumbernauld office as part of a civil service shakeup, having initially proposed this in March.

Mr Hepburn added:

“A similar assessment has already been carried out by West Lothian Council so there is absolutely no reason why NLC cannot support these plans.” 

Mr McDonald said:

“Frustratingly, despite numerous attempts to get some kind of response to our request for an impact assessment, months later we are yet to receive any meaningful response.” 

Shirley Linton, Head of Enterprise and Place for North Lanarkshire Council, said:

“The council recognises the impact of the proposed closure and has been working hard in recent months to discuss the situation with the current employer – in this case HMRC – to ensure appropriate support for employees is put in place. This means we can match employees with suitable alternative employment and provide advice to them if that is required. 

In addition, we will work with the marketing agents for the HMRC site to support opportunities for the site and any support for the wider town which is required. 

The council does not believe an economic assessment would be of benefit at this time.”

The question is, why is the council so afraid of HMRC?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Pisses Off MP For Bootle

Peter Dowd MP  for Bootle is more than a little pissed off with HMRC.

For why?

It seems that HMRC did not brief him ahead of the announcement that the town’s tax office was set to close.

The ECHO reports that early yesterday HMRC confirmed that it will close its Triad centre in Bootle, and that all staff will move to a new “super call centre” at the Grade II*-listed India Buildings in Liverpool city centre .

Peter Dowd, who has spoken out against the proposed move in the past, said:

“I am furious that I have had to learn of such an important decision from the ECHO. I later checked my emails and discovered that a letter from HMRC chief executive John Thompson was sent to me at around lunchtime today.

But that is still not good enough. I would like to point out that I am also shadow chief secretary to the treasury, and this decision fell well within my brief. I would have liked a bit of notice ahead of an announcement that is so important to my constituency.”

Staff will start moving from the landmark Triad building on Stanley Road to the India building from 2019. Workers from other HMRC regional centres will also move to the India building on Water Street.

HMRC's communications found wanting?

Quelle surprise!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Joining The Dots of HMRC's Property Deals

Unsurprisingly, yesterday's article about HMRC's very expensive superhub in Cardiff has raised a few eyebrows and issues.

My thanks to a loyal reader for posting the following comment that highlights a few dots that need to be joined:

"Whoa there pilgrim, just a cotton picking minute, let's take a closer look at this afore ye spend all that "customer's" money!?

Who owns the Llanishen site? Thought Mapely did as per Wales On Line 13 Nov 2015 - The freehold interest in the current HMRC office site at Llanishen is owned by Mapeley Estates, following a private finance initiative agreement ...????

Surely that was why HMRC was paying for rent etc. on the site?

Then there is the matter of £20m (currently) for fitting out, so the lease is bare building? This is (currently) £5000/head just to fit out! WTF they having 22" plasma screens, gold plated loo's, FFS?! Piss off to IKEA, just a mile or 2 down the road and save yourself a few million!

Transport/parking infrastructure - all of a sudden 4.000 extra staff plus security, cleaners, deliveries etc. land upon the centre of Cardiff via train, bus, car, pedal, foot. Bloody trains have to queue now outside the station and Cardiff traffic is a nightmare for public and private transport.

Who is actually paying for this "range of benefits to people in Cardiff" ? Oh, that's all right then, it is only the end user that has to worry then, come back in 5 years time and see how much the real cost has reached!

Given the appalling track record of previous estate deals in this part of the public sector this needs a wee dig by an investigative journo' to establish VFM and whether basic business checks have been applied to such an amount of "customer expenditure".

Oh, yes, as these Muppets no longer FTF with their "customer" base, why the need for an expensive central location - vanity? Is there a common purpose associated with the development that remains hidden?

Answers on the back of a postage stamp please."

Oh, and don't forget (as per WalesOnline):

"The freehold interest in the current HMRC office site at Llanishen is owned by Mapeley Estates, following a private finance initiative agreement with the UK government. 

But that deal will expire around 2020. The land would then revert into UK government ownership."

2020 being the year that HMRC moves to its superhub.

There's irony for you!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Signs Largest Ever Office Deal In Wales

HMRC have made the record books in Wales, for agreeing the largest office deal ever seen in Wales.

HMRC will move to a new headquarters in the centre of Cardiff - at the heart of a new public sector hub that will employ 4,000.

HMRC, which currently has its main tax office in Wales in the Llanishen area of Cardiff, has signed up to a new 266,000 sq ft building in a major pre-let deal which marks the next phase of development at the Central Square regeneration scheme in the centre of the capital.

WalesOnline reports that it is scheduled for completed in late 2019, with HMRC moving into its new offices from 2020.

The 12 storey building will be known as 6 Central Square. It will be built by construction firm Robert McAlpine. However, there is the small matter of planning consent for the £100m project. A determination is expected next month.

The move will allow HMRC to sell its existing site in Llanishen for redevelopment, potentially for a housing led regeneration scheme. Some 3,600 HMRC staff (full-time equivalent) will be based in the HQ.

HMRC has agreed a 25-year lease for its new building at Central Square. It is understood there is no break clause and the rent - starting at around £16 a sq ft per annum - will be subject to rent reviews based on the then retail prices index measure of inflation every five years.

HMRC is also forward committing £20m to the fitout of the building.

Once completed the building's ownership with transfer to L&G's pension arm - for what is a prized investment asset, due to the strong covenant provided by a government organisation over 25-years with no break clause.

Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency, Caroline Nokes, said:

“This Government is committed to delivering the best quality public services in every corner of the UK, and today’s announcement is an important step towards that.

This new lease is great news for Cardiff, and will deliver a range of benefits to people in Cardiff, from improved public space and transport to better access to the Principality Stadium from the station.”

Let us trust that the rent that HMRC pays is "reasonable" when compared to similar properties/locations. Let us also trust that the building remains fit for purpose for the expected 25 year rental period!


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance




HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Rigs Staff Survey - By Threatening Office Closure

My thanks to a loyal reader who dropped me this wee note below:

"I just thought that your readers might be interested to know that at least one office in HMRC has found a way to improve the engagement results of the 2017 staff survey. 

Staff in one of the many offices ear marked to be closed in the next few years have recently been advised at team meetings that too many negative comments on the 2017 survey may result in their office being closed earlier than planned!"

Loyal readers are aware that HMRC has an "issue" with staff surveys, wrt lousy results and poor response rates. Indeed it has been noted before that certain managers try to manipulate staff into making positive comments.

However, to threaten the closure of an office is lower than disgusting!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Penny Ciniewicz Returns To HMRC

Penny Ciniewicz, chief executive of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), has been hired as head of HMRC’s customer compliance group taking over from Jennie Granger who stepped down in May and Angela MacDonald, currently operational excellence director in HMRC, will take on Ruth Owen’s old role of customer services group head.

Penny Ciniewicz will return to HMRC on 4 September to become director general for customer compliance, which includes compliance for all customer groups, from large businesses to individuals, as well as HMRC’s counter-avoidance and fraud investigation functions.

This marks a return home for Ciniewicz, CCH Daily reports that prior to being CEO of the VOA, Ciniewicz was director of knowledge, analysis and intelligence at HMRC from 2007 to 2009. She was also principal private secretary to the Cabinet Secretary and director aerospace and defence at the Department for Trade and Industry, holding both roles for only two years.

Ciniewicz said:

"It’s a privilege to be returning to HMRC after nearly eight years as chief executive for the VOA. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to build on the work of Jennie Granger in ensuring we reduce the tax gap and promote compliance, ensuring we bring in the money that pays for the UK’s public services."

Angela MacDonald will take up her new role on 7 August. She was appointed director for operational excellence at HMRC in January 2017 and has previously been operational excellence director at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2017. Prior to joining the Civil Service, MacDonald worked in the financial services sector.

Angela MacDonald said:

"As operational excellence director, I see firsthand the commitment and passion among our people for delivering high-quality customer service. This is a fantastic opportunity and it is a privilege to follow in Ruth Owen’s footsteps, investing in and building the best service we can for all our customers, now and in the future."

Melissa Tatton, currently director for individuals and small business compliance at HMRC, will replace Ciniewicz as CEO of the VOA.

Jon Thompson, chief executive of HMRC, said:

"I’d like to congratulate Melissa, Penny and Angela on their appointments, and am delighted to welcome them to HMRC’s Executive Committee. They bring a wealth of capability, leadership and experience with them, and will have vital roles to play in helping build our future and achieve our vision of becoming a world-class organisation."

By happenstance I have looked up VOA on Glassdoor, and see a few comments from employees thusly:

"you will be over worked and under paid
management will take credit for your hard work
you will be pushed to your limit and likely bullied if you dare speak up
put a foot wrong and they will hold it against you for ever more.

Management are made up of people jumping form other departments and pulling their mates along with them. You have no chance of any career progression unless you are someone who can do as you are told and not think for yourself. They don't like that. Avoid as all costs this is an awful place to work.

Advice to Management

you are not very nice people, you promote bullying and harassment in the work place"

More bullying mentioned here:

"Cliquey teams and a lot of bullying from certain managers - who then are protected by the ''NEW'' office Senior who used to be a co- worker herself and promised to rid of bullies - laughable."

 

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Now Moving Into Croydon Hub

HMRC staff have begun moving into 1 Ruskin Square, Croydon, as from 24 July.

CCH Daily reports that HMRC will occupy building one at Ruskin Square in Croydon on a 25-year lease. Building one is the first structure to have been completed with over 180,000 sq. ft. of office space.

The 600 HMRC staff who are already based in Croydon will be part of the move to the new regional hub.

HMRC said:

"As part of our transformation programme, the existing Croydon office will be closing by late 2017 and staff will relocate to the new regional centre development.

It is a new building and part of the Ruskin Square development in Croydon next to East Croydon station. It has been chosen for its easy-to-reach location, with excellent transport links and quick access to Central London and a design which will provide HMRC with the digital infrastructure required by a modern tax authority."

Good luck to all who sail in her!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Welcome To Croydon - HMRC Regional Hub Summer Opening

HMRC has confirmed that it will move staff into its first regional hub in Croydon in south London this summer and plans to open the remaining 12 regional centres by 2022.

In a statement HMRC are quoted by CCH:

‘We are now very close to being able to announce the locations of a number of our regional centres – and we expect to have announced the majority of them by the end of the summer.

The nature of negotiations means that it is difficult to provide an exact date.

We have promised our staff that we will tell them first of the location as soon as we are able to, but we plan to provide updates too.’

Ironically the headquarters of HMRC will remain in Whitehall!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Staff In Dundee To Be Moved

Last week it emerged that 34 HMRC employees working at the offices at Caledonian House in Greenmarket were offered voluntary redundancy.

CCH reports that the ‘majority’ of HMRC workers in Dundee will be moved elsewhere in the city as part of a wider overhaul of staffing in the tax authority’s offices,

An HMRC spokesperson said:

‘HMRC has been working hard to avoid compulsory redundancies since we first announced that offices would be closing in November 2015.

On 22 June, we launched a voluntary redundancy scheme for people currently working in offices due to close between December 2017 and March 2018.

Every person in these offices has had the opportunity to hold a one-to-one meeting with their manager to look at whether they can move to another HMRC office. The people being offered voluntary redundancy are those who, following the one-to-one discussions, are confirmed as being outside of reasonable daily travel of another HMRC office.’ 

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Takes Up Farming

My thanks to a loyal reader who posted about a visit to Hull yesterday by Gerry Dorby (Assistant Director of Risk and Intelligence at HMRC).

"Just been told that Gerry Dorby was asked, at a SLT meeting today in Hull, a series of questions from staff (AOs and Band Os). 

One was, with the digitalisation of data gathering coming into effect soon, where will this leave AOs? 

His answer: they'll be farmed out to other departments. 

Another question: how does he see morale and well being going in Hull as it gets closer to closing? 

Answer: well, he apparently answered another question entirely, completely side stepping it, before adding "why would anyone complain, there's loads of work to do". 

He then said he had "no idea" where the regional office in Leeds will be, either exact location or time wise. "I promise, as soon as I know, you will"., he said. 

This is as rumours fly that Wellington Place will house the Leeds staff (and what's left of Hull's) from 2019."

Therefore it seems that HMRC has taken up "farming".

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Trouble In Hull

My thanks to a loyal reader who posted this comment the other day, warning about a possible "AO dump" in Hull:

"So, Gerry Dorby visited Cherry Court in Hull a week or two ago.

The first floor of the building holds the RIS section, and all ten or so teams were recently "re-structured" because, officially, Jenni Cooper had some problem with too many teams, but in reality it was done because A) She wanted to leave people doing something she'd ordered before taking maternity leave, and B) to split up people who were seen as talking too much.

When Dorby came, he noted that he wanted as many AOs "out the door" as soon as possible, adding that the floor was "far too noisy" still.

This was on a Friday when there were, apparently, very few people in.

He is also making it his mission to get production up - even though it already as high as it can be, I've been told..."

It is not clear as to whether the HMRC AO "dump" is redundancy or moving staff to the DWP.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation!

The National Audit Office has today published a report that rubbishes HMRC's plans to reduce the costs of running its estate.

The NAO wants HMRC to adjust the scope and timings of the project, in order to reduce the risk of service disruption.

As of November 2016, HMRC was responsible for one million square metres of buildings across the country, making it the fourth-largest estate in central government. Annual estate running costs stood at £269m in 2015-16, which pays for the accommodation of 58,600 staff.

Under the programme, HMRC will transition from 170 widely dispersed offices to 13 regional centres, with an additional four specialist sites and a central London headquarters. This will see 137 offices close by 2021 and involve 38,000 employees moving to the regional centres or leaving the department altogether. Some may need to relocate by up to 174 miles if they want to keep their jobs.

The scale of the savings that HMRC can make is limited by its Private Finance Initiative contract with Mapeley, which does not expire until 2021.

Under this deal, HMRC sold its freehold properties, which amounted to two-thirds of the estate, to Mapeley for £370m, then immediately leased them back, with Mapeley providing facilities management and maintenance services.
 

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, is quoted by Public Finance: 

“HMRC has improved the handling of its current contract with Mapeley and achieved better outcomes, though significant risks remains.

Looking ahead, HMRC has acknowledged its original plan for regional centres was unrealistic and is now re-considering the scope and timing of the programme.”

He advised HMRC to “step back and consider whether this strategy still best supports its wider business transformation and will deliver the sustainable cost saving it set out to achieve in the long run”.

The legacy of Mapeley!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Building Our Future - Mapeley

My thanks to a loyal reader who directed me to Hansard 28 April 2016 wrt

HMRC: Building our Future Plan

 

There are numerous mentions of our old friends at Mapeley and the significance of 2021.

Happy reading!

Chris Stephens

I suspect that the word “Mapeley” will come up in the course of this debate, so let me touch on it. I referred earlier to the more than 700 offices formerly used by HMRC. Mapeley Estates snapped up more than 130 of them for its offshore property portfolio after loading itself up with debt in order to front up its side of this rotten charade with the then Government: 84% of the funding that Mapeley obtained to acquire that lucrative contract came in the form of loans. That shabby deal with a shabby company comes to an end in 2021. For the privilege of renting publicly built offices sold off for a song, HMRC will have the right to occupy buildings, with leases based on market terms” after that date. That is very generous of Mapeley.​

I commend the National Audit Office on its 2009 report on the deal. It is redolent with phrases such as, “the Department has not achieved value for money…The Department did not fully appreciate the risks… The Department has not had strong processes to monitor the overall cost of the contract and whether it is achieving value for money”.

The Exchequer Secretary admitted to this House last year that the end life of the Mapeley contracts represented a “one-off opportunity to make this change to the estate footprint.”—[Official Report, 24 November 2015; Vol. 602, c. 1300.]

That is part of the truth behind the closures—a private finance initiative deal worth billions from the public purse, used to enrich a Bermuda-domiciled corporate entity, with the public left with nothing at the end of 20 years, except the right to sign a commercial lease.

I will end with the words of a PCS member and HMRC employee, my constituent Bobby Young, who is chair of the PCS Revenue and Customs branch:

“Whilst my branch welcomes the news of a slight increase of jobs in Glasgow, we absolutely oppose it if it comes at the cost of jobs elsewhere. Communities from Bathgate to Bootle will be devastated by these closures—that is not a price worth paying for the sake of a few extra jobs in Glasgow.”

If anyone should know about prices, it is an employee of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Sadly, it seems that their superiors know very little about value.

Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)

I recently discovered that the ownership of the leases of HMRC offices—this has already been mentioned by my hon. Friend—was transferred to a company called Mapeley in 2001. You could not make this up, Mr Deputy Speaker. Where is Mapeley based? In the Bahamas. That is right: HMRC pays rent to a company registered in a tax haven. To quote the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, this Government have scored a “massive own goal”. Who stands to profit from the sales of HMRC local offices? You guessed it: Mapeley again. Why not use local council offices that may be available, and then any profits from the rents would go straight to the Treasury?

Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)

Perhaps the Minister will be able to answer some of our questions today, but I must emphasise that debates alone will not be enough. We need the people behind these proposals to come here to explain them directly to Parliament. That would allow Members to get stuck into the nuts and bolts and to get behind the management-speak and buzzwords that are too often passed off as answers. If that does not happen, staff and taxpayers will be left questioning whether HMRC is really “building our future”, as the glossy brochure states, or whether this is in fact a question of buildings forcing our future. It has already been pointed out that this is taking place in the context of the expiry of the extraordinary contracts that were entered into in 2001, when 600 or so properties were sold to the offshore company, Mapeley Steps, and then leased back, PFI-style, to HMRC. Those contracts expire in the years leading up to 2021. In the absence of answers to our questions, many will conclude that this is more about digging HMRC out of the hole that it jumped into in 2001, rather than being about any kind of strategy. That is the only conclusion open to us.

Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)

Well, Minister, it’s all a bit of mess, isn’t it? I congratulate the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) on securing the debate. He touched on staff morale, the workforce figures and the fact that there has been no ministerial statement. Along with several other hon. Members, he also mentioned the shameful Mapeley contract, signed—I am sad to say—by a Labour Government who did not realise at the time that it was an overseas company.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Three Legged Stool - Strategy, Service and Compliance

HMRC is to launch yet another restructuring drive, with the theoretical intent of putting the "customer" ("TAXPAYER" FFS!) at the heart of the restructured organisation.

The current four HMRC directorates will be streamlined into three distinct divisions:

From 1 October, the existing four directorates will be reorganised into three groups:

1. a new customer strategy and tax design group, which brings together customer strategy, tax policy, process design and tax assurance teams, led by Jim Harra, director general business tax;
2. an expanded customer service group, which includes the main operational teams, led by Ruth Owen, currently director general customer services;
3. a customer compliance group, which will tackle non-compliance and enforcement for all customer groups, including large businesses, led by Jennie Granger, current director general enforcement and compliance.

Central to the customer strategy and tax design group will be the inclusion of representatives from customer services reorganised. This group will include personal tax customer product and process staff, who will take up their new roles in October, while specialist personal tax teams with expertise in policy, technical, shares and valuation, will come on board by December 2016.

The fourth directorate, headed up by Nick Lodge, covering general benefits and credits will be assimilated into the other three core groups.

Where does Lodge end up, or does HMRC hope he falls on his sword?

HMRC director of corporate communications Stephen Hardwick is quoted by CCH Daily:

"As we have been evolving what we do, and where we do it, as part of this transformation, we have also kept our organisational structure under review, to ensure that it is fit for the future and that it supports our new digital and collaborative ways of working.

As a result, we have now decided to make some further changes to how we are structured. From October, we will be reorganising the directorates in our four existing lines of business into three new groups."

An HMRC spokesperson added:

"The way HMRC works is changing for the better. We are more determined than ever to deliver an outstanding service to our customers while clamping down on the minority of tax dodgers who try to cheat the system.

This announcement is about the next step in driving those commitments forward, modernising how we work.

There will also be no redundancies as a result of this restructure."

This restructuring appears to be driven by the need to make the organisation fit in with the Making Tax Digital process, surely it should be the other way around?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"