We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to keep a fully staffed office open in Dumfries.”
Details of Petition:
“As part of it’s plans to centralise HMRC operations, the Government has issued proposals indicating that it intends to close it’s Dumfries office The office in Dumfries has already seen significant job losses in recent years. The majority of remaining staff are likely to face redundancy (due to our rural location, options are limited & other Public Sector jobs within the area are few & far between). Dumfries is a rural town & further job losses will have a serious effect on the local economy (as was the case when the Government withdrew the Department for Works & Pensions office from Dumfries). Centralisation of Government departments is having a devastating effect on rural locations like Dumfries. Our share of public sector jobs is being withdrawn in favour of those who live in Cities, resulting in Civil Service job opportunities being lost to our Community forever. Please help save our office by signing this petition.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
The Government notes that HMRC published on 11 June its proposals for restructuring its operations in cluster and individual locations in Scotland, which includes Dumfries. Similar representations have been made during the consultation exercise which HM Revenue & Customs held with staff, unions, and key external stakeholders including local authorities, on its initial proposals. All representations will be taken into account before final decisions are made later this year on the future of Dumfries and the other offices under review. An assessment will be carried out of the impact of closure on staff, customers and the wider community, which considers the type of issues mentioned in the petition. HMRC will continue to maintain a local face to face advice service to customers by retaining enquiry centre services at or near their current locations.
More generally, the Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations of the Lyons Review of Relocation, including the relocation of 20,000 posts from London and the South East to the nations and regions of the UK.
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