Anger at 1200 tax jobs switch

HMRC move could cost local economy £8.5m

West Lothian is set to lose 1200 jobs as HMRC press ahead with centralising their offices in Edinburgh.

HMRC officials plan to move their bases in Bathgate and Livingston to a centralised hub for civil servants at New Waverley, Edinburgh, by 2020.

The planned closures have been met with condemnation by politicians, the PCS Union and the National Audit Office who called the move “unrealistic”.

A socio- economic impact study carried out by PCS Union and West Lothian Council said the move could cost the local economy £8.5 million.

Following HMRC’ s announcement, Neil Findlay, Labour MSP for Lothian, said: “This is an appalling decision by the Tory Government and makes no economic sense whatsoever.

“We have fought a cross-party campaign to keep these 1200 jobs in West Lothian but the Government in its arrogance has refused to listen to the sensible case we made. However, the fight will go on and we will continue to expose the financial madness of moving these jobs to a very expensive city centre location.”

Fiona Hyslop, SNP MSP for

centre location.”

Fiona Hyslop, SNP MSP for Linlithgow, was also quick to condemn the move.

She said: “I am deeply concerned by the UK Government’s decision to relocate HMRC services from the current Bathgate and Livingston sites to a regional centre in Edinburgh affecting up to 1200 jobs.

“This decision has been made without proper parliamentary scrutiny and despite concerns over the financial integrity of such a move being raised by the National Audit Office (NAO).

“Despite the unfounded claims that this move will save money, the cost of relocating services to Edinburgh is in the region of £70million and could well be of greater cost to the taxpayer in the long term.

“It is disgraceful that the UK Government have pushed ahead with this decision with no regard for the local economy, job security and value for money for taxpayers.”

PCS Union and West Lothian Council have both been working with local politicians to fight the move.

Lynn Henderson, PCS National Officer, said: “No consultation has taken place with the union, the public or elected politicians about the Building Our Future programme or the location of the Edinburgh office and PCS remains firmly behind campaigns such as ‘Keep Work in West Lothian’ in defence of our members based in Bathgate and Livingston, many of whom would be unable to travel to the new office should their locations close.”

Cathy Muldoon, executive councillor for development and transport, said: “West Lothian Council are bitterly disappointed that the decision has been taken to relocate the jobs from Bathgate and Livingston to Edinburgh. This will be a blow to jobs in West Lothian and we expect that it will have a significant impact on the local economy.

“West Lothian Council have worked hard with the PCS Union and local politicians to campaign to stop this move.”

A spokesperson for HMRC said: “HMRC location decisions were based on a number of key principles to enable it to deliver more for less.

“This included retention of their current staff and skills, access to a pipeline of talent and local and national transport links. They do not plan to carry out an impact assessment on the local economy of the area.

“HMRC are committed to maximising tax revenue, increasing compliance and reducing the tax gap while delivering best value to the taxpayer. Whilst accepting there may be an impact on locations they are leaving, they have to prioritise these