Closure blow for Highland tax office workers
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Tax office workers in Inverness have been told that the office will close in 2017 as part of a government project designed to save hundreds of millions of pounds.
Up to 64 workers are believed to potentially be affected by HMRC's decision to shut the River House facility along with 17 of its 18 offices in Scotland
More than 2,000 jobs could be lost in Scotland.
The organisation said “most” of its workforce will move into two regional centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Lin Homer, HMRC’s chief executive, said: “Where offices are a long way from a regional centre and it is not possible for employees to move to work in one, HMRC will do everything it reasonably can to help them to find new roles, either elsewhere in the civil service, or outside, in order to minimise redundancies.”
Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat councillor for Tain and Easter Ross, who is standing on in the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary elections, said the closure should be resisted "tooth and nail".
He said: "I think this stinks to high heaven. It's difficult enough for people to get from north west Sutherland or Caithness to Inverness but to take out the Inverness office is blatant discrimination against people who live in the remote areas and it should be resisted tooth and nail. I hope the matter will be raised as a matter of urgency in Holyrood and Westminster."
Scottish National Party MP Drew Hendry said it was “unacceptable” that staff should lose their jobs because of their location. He pledged to "step up work with MSP Fergus Ewing to press the UK government to rethink the plans".
He said: “It is a devastating blow given that the scale of the job losses are far worse than anyone was prepared for. It is unacceptable that these staff should lose their jobs because of their location especially when their skills are so obviously needed in other areas of the organisation
"The level of job losses in our area is distressing and shows a complete lack of understanding and commitment to supporting people in the Highlands & Islands.”
Fergus Ewing MSP said: “It is deeply concerning that HMRC management are making this announcement at a time when the pressure upon their office has never been greater.”
The Public and Commercial Services union is calling for the decision to be reviewed by MPs.
The union says the plans, being announced while parliament is in recess, “pose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC, its service to the public and the working lives of staff”.
The threat is so severe, the union believes, that as well as entering into genuine negotiations, it says HMRC must launch a high profile public consultation and allow its proposals to be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny.
