HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS ESTABLISHMENT IN WALES

That this House is greatly concerned at HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) plans to cut 1,000 jobs in Wales over the next five years; notes that many of these cuts will take place in deprived EU convergence funding areas, where the local economy can ill afford the loss of high quality public sector jobs; laments the trend towards centralisation and remoteness of service delivery; further notes that reducing local staffing to a skeletal level is unlikely to provide a better level of service for local people, particularly in remote areas where there is little possibility of staff transferring to other HMRC offices; is concerned that the cuts will undermine the efficiency of HMRC and its capacity to collect Government revenue; further laments the Government's decision to review large urban offices before reviewing other offices; believes that the staged review process will disadvantage smaller offices; and calls on the Government to reconsider these ill-advised plans.