February 5, 2016 3.15 pm This story is over 97 months old

Demo set over closure of Lincoln HMRC offices and loss of 200 jobs

Hitting back: Union representatives will be demonstrating in Lincoln this weekend against the closure of both Lincoln HMRC offices, a move which will bring down the axe on 200 jobs.
HMRC's Cromwell House centre in Lincoln. Photo: Google Street View

Union representatives will be demonstrating in Lincoln this weekend against the closure of both Lincoln HMRC offices, a move which will bring down the axe on 200 jobs.

PCS, the union that represents staff at HMRC, are launching a petition to stop the closure of the offices on Saturday, February 6 at Lincoln High Street.

In November last year, HM Revenue & Customs announced that 137 offices, including Cromwell House off Crusader Road, and Lawress Hall, would close in a bid to save £100 million by 2025.

HMRC said at the time it expected the majority of staff to be able to move from their current offices to a regional centre, and would phase the moves over 10 years in order to minimise redundancies.

PCS has stated that by 2020 there will no longer be any HMRC base in Lincoln or Lincolnshire, with the main site closing as early 2017. They say both closures will mean a loss to Lincoln of 200 jobs.

Andrew Lloyd, PCS Regional secretary for the Midlands said: “Previous research has shown when you take 100 jobs of this type out of an economy the detrimental impact can be as much as £1.5 million.

“PCS will handout leaflets in Lincoln and ask members of the public to sign the petition against the closure. The petition also calls for a public consultation on the HMRC closures which to date has not taken place.

“It is outrageous that there has not been a public or parliamentary consultation exercise over these closures, it shouldn’t just be the HMRC staff who demand this it should be the public and the Lincolnshire MPs.”

“We have written to every MP whose constituents work at Lincoln HMRC offices, and not one of them has agreed to oppose these closures.

“It appears we care more about the economy than they do, we call upon the public to join our campaign.”

Lin Homer, HMRC’s Chief Executive, said previously: “HMRC has too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices. This makes it difficult for us to collaborate, modernise our ways of working, and make the changes we need to transform our service to customers and clamp down further on the minority who try to cheat the system.

“The new regional centres will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents.”

PCS and other supporters will be on the High Street in Lincoln on Saturday afternoon from midday asking shoppers to support the campaign.