Inland Revenue (Hansard, 12 January 1998)

§ Dr. Ladyman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account the Inland Revenue policy takes of levels of unemployment and social deprivation when considering the merger or closure of its offices. [22231]
51W

§ Dawn Primarolo
In considering which of its offices should merge or close, the Inland Revenue's main objectives are to improve the quality of its service to the public and to achieve cost efficiency.

§ Dr. Ladyman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed new office structures for Inland Revenue offices on(a) processing of self assessment tax returns, (b) mail clearance times, (c) clearance of CY-2 open cases, (d) the handling of telephone and fax inquiry calls, (e) the handling of debt and return management lists and (f) dealings with employer compliance system reviews. [22232]

§ Dawn Primarolo
All the available evidence so far indicates that taken, as a whole, the performance of new-style offices created under the Inland Revenue's restructuring programme is similar to the offices they replaced. These results are being achieved with fewer resources and reduced running costs.

§ Dr. Ladyman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy in respect of maintaining Inland Revenue offices in areas which produce high black economy yields. [22229]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The Inland Revenue is engaged in a major programme of change which includes restructuring its local office network. Before any office is closed under that programme, the Department and Ministers need to be satisfied that the new offices will deliver an enhanced compliance performance including maintaining or improving black economy yields.

§ Dr. Ladyman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors underlie the Inland Revenue's offer proposal to close offices in the South East region. [22230]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The Inland Revenue is engaged in a major programme of change which includes restructuring its local office network. Before any office is closed under that programme, the Department and Ministers need to be satisfied that the new offices will deliver good quality customer service, enhanced compliance performance and reduced costs.