250 jobs to go at Norfolk House tax office in Bristol
A TAX office in the centre of Bristol is to close with the loss of around 250 jobs.
The office at Norfolk House in Water Lane will shut within the next two to three years as part a nationwide programme of closures and cost-cutting which will see a total of 10,000 jobs axed across the country.
HM Revenue and Customs announced yesterday that 15 offices around the UK will be shut during the next two years, following the closure of more than 200 in the last three.
Bristol East Labour MP Kerry McCarthy said she would be asking questions in Parliament about the decision and the impact it will have on jobs in the city.
The news came just a day after official figures revealed that the UK's economy is heading back towards a recession.
A spokesman for the Public and Commercial Services union said: "Having tax offices based in local communities shows the importance and value of tax collection to our economy and public services, as well as providing a face-to-face service for people who cannot, or do not want to, use the internet or phone a call centre.
"Our economy is slumping because this government is ruthlessly cutting when it should be investing and tackling the billions of pounds in tax that some very wealthy individuals and organisations avoid and evade paying every year."
An HMRC spokesman said: "Office closures will not be detrimental to customer service. Most of our businesses are organised on national lines and few offices provide a service locally.
"We continue to provide face-to-face services for customers who need that level of service."
5 Comments
by Mr_Hector
Friday, January 27 2012, 4:52PM
“What a load of rubbish this report is; and a testament to how much propaganda is pumped out by the media and swallowed, without question, by so many people.
No jobs are being lost from the Norfolk House closure. Staff are being relocated in other offices in the very immediate area. There have been, zero, job losses. In fact, the moves from Norfolk House have been going on for some time. There will also be no effect on the public as even the Enquiry Centre will be relocated very nearby.
The first floor of this building has been next to empty for some years. Anyone working in the overlooking Bristol House can confirm that. In fact, as the building is now rented, moving staff out of there will actually save quite a lot of money... which is probably why it's being done!
So, if Kerry McCarthy stands up in Parliament to enquire about "the impact it will have on jobs in the city" then she will end up looking very silly indeed. Perhaps if she spent less time on Twitter and more time talking in person to actual Bristolians she may find herself better informed.
Message to FishpondsMan: I've always found the Enquiry Centre staff very helpful in this particular building... and as the only other Revenue staff here are Processing (who you cannot speak to) and Fraud aka Compliance (who want to speak to you) it would suggest that you have an axe to grind for some reason. Not keeping your papers in order perhaps?”
by RobMcCarthy
Friday, January 27 2012, 1:25PM
“by geeveeh Friday, January 27 2012, 8:53AM
"Would this be because the majority of people in Bristol are now east european doing cash in hand jobs like car washing and fish and chips and most of the others are benefit scroungers so there is no one left to pay tax except me and you !!"
No, probably not.”
by Commenter42
Friday, January 27 2012, 11:40AM
“geeveeh. the majority of people in Bristol are NOT east european doing cash-in-hand jobs and, whilst a majority of benefit scrounger are white Bristish, benefit scroungers as a whole are a minority of the total number of claimaints - the number of which itself a minority of the population of the greater Bristol area.”
by FishpondsMan
Friday, January 27 2012, 9:14AM
“I would suggest it shows how over bloated the public sector has become, the HMRC can lose raft's of staff and it may no difference to the already shocking level of service they give (and that's only when it suits them).
In all my dealings with this office I have had nothing but shocking levels of service, complete lack of any responsibility from every single member of staff, rudeness, complete lack of knowledge of the tax system as well as themselves endlessly breaking their own code of conduct.
Altogether ahhhh”
by geeveeh
Friday, January 27 2012, 8:53AM
“Would this be because the majority of people in Bristol are now east european doing cash in hand jobs like car washing and fish and chips and most of the others are benefit scroungers so there is no one left to pay tax except me and you !!”