HC Deb 24 November 1977 vol 939 cc857-8W
Mr. Steen

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps are being taken to fill the available office space in St. John's House, Bootle;

(2) how many staff arc currently occupying St. John's House, Bootle; and what is its total capacity;

(3) what plans he has for the half of St. John's House, Bootle, which is now no longer to be occupied by the Inland Revenue's accounts offices;

(4) if he will make a statement about the loss of jobs to Merseyside which has been occasioned by the Inland Revenue's accounts office's refusal to occupy half of St. John's House, Bootle;

(5) if he will make a statement about the reorganisation of St. John's House, Bootle;

(6)If he will make a statement about the nature of the difficulties encountered which resulted in the Inland Revenue's computerised accounts offices not taking up the accommodation which they were going to occupy in St. John's House, Bootle;

(7) why the staff dealing with the routine processes in making Schedule D assessments have not taken up their accommodation in St. John's House, Bootle.

Mr. Robert Sheldon

St. John's House, Bootle is still under construction and is not yet available for occupation. On completion it is expected to provide accommodation for up to about 3,500 staff, depending on the type of work. The decision not to proceed with plans to use part of the building when completed for a third computerised accounts office followed a review of the Revenue's accounts office project earlier this year. This confirmed the viability of the main part of the project but revealed serious difficulties in devising an operationally viable computer system for the Schedule D assessing component, particularly because of the complex procedures involved for the local tax offices. The modified project can be housed in the first two accounts office buildings, at Cumbernauld and Shipley. Plans for housing over 1,500 other Revenue staff in St. John's House are unaffected by this decision. A review is under way to find alternative use for Government purposes for the remainder of the building and it is intended to include work that will bring new jobs to the area.