| Perth HMRC Closure: MP Incensed
Pete Wishart MP has been closely involved in discussions surrounding the future of the office and held several meetings with, Mr John Oswald, HMRC Scotland East Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) Branch Chairman and members of staff at the Perth HMRC.
On hearing the news of the confirmed closure he said: “There has been a tax office in the Fair City as long as long as there has been a system of taxation in Scotland! This closure of Perth’s HMRC Office has been one of calculation and stealth, which had slowly but surely stripped this centre back to the bone.
“I have been involved in Trade Union discussions throughout the long period as this office was being slowly run down by central government. I fully supported the PCS campaign to stop the heart being ripped out of public service provision. What people want, and quite simply what works, is being able to speak to people face to face rather than being shunted onto telephone lines to centralised teams that are based hundreds of miles away.”
Employment Loss
He continued: “This move will see a loss of a range of employment opportunities and I think it is a bitter blow to lose these high quality civil service jobs from Perthshire. The Government’s treatment of Civil Service workers in this centralisation push has been atrocious, with Perth workers being described as ‘pre-surplus’ more than a year ago.
“My office receives a constant stream of complaints about the operation of these systems and few of them ever related to the efforts of individual staff members, but have everything to do with the massive cuts being imposed by central government. How closing down a local office will assist with HMRC’s operations in Perthshire is beyond me.
Regressive Move
“This closure threatens to disadvantage the most vulnerable, whether it is for Tax Credits, benefits or many other government services and this course of action can only degrade these services to constituents in Perth and North Perthshire.”
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