Retford tax office to close

RETFORD tax office is to close by 2011 under Government efficiency plans, leaving 30 staff facing redeployment or redundancy.

Under the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Workforce Change review, offices across the country, including Retford, were told today (Wednesday) their site would close over the course of 2010/2011.

The decision was made to reduce the number of sites used by the department after the merger of the Inland Revenue with HM Customs and Excise in 2005 to form HMRC.

A spokesman for HMRC said the department wished to avoid redundancies, and that redeployment to a nearby site would be offered first.

"We believe we will be able to deliver a better level of service to residents," she said.

"There were quite a few duplicate buildings with spare office space.

"Clearly that wasn't efficient because we'd formed to be a new organisation.

"Redundancy's going to be a last resort - we can't rule it out and we will do everything possible to keep staff retained.

"Some of those staff may consider applying for voluntary redundancy under the terms of the civil service redundancy scheme."

But the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is livid following the announcement and the consultation process.

Over 100 offices around the country have been informed of closure, affecting over 3000 jobs.

In the East Midlands alone, 23 tax offices will be closed in the move, affecting over 500 staff.

PCS regional secretary Andrew Lloyd said the move would contribute to unemployment for current and future generations in the Midlands and warned that the loss of money to tax avoidance would only worsen by closing the offices.

"These closures make no sense; the country stands to lose even more by more tax avoidance, and the staff that will be made redundant will potentially add to the increasing number of unemployed, particularly awful in our regions," he said.

"These closures are not just bad because of the jobs that are lost, but once these offices are closed they will be lost and unlikely to be re-opened, meaning that in a number of small and rural communities there is a significant impact on the town, and also future generations from these towns and villages who are denied the opportunity to work for HMRC."

No decision has yet been made on the details or number of redundancies and redeployments.