Preston jobs: Union says HMRC decision to stay in city ends "years of worrying"

The Government announced yesterday (April 5), that long-held plans to move jobs into regional centres in Manchester and Liverpool had been scrapped.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said “supports the government’s plans to promote growth and job opportunities across the UK, so we can better serve our customers.”

What did the union say?

Lorna Merry, PCS HMRC Group President, which represents HMRC staff, said: “We welcome today's announcement that HMRC will stay in Preston, and that our members in the city join East Kilbride and Portsmouth in having successfully made the case to keep jobs in their communities.

"This is great news for our members in Preston, keeping jobs local and keeping valuable experience in the department.

"After years of worrying about having to leave if they couldn't travel to Manchester or Liverpool, this gives our people a real future where they want it to be and gives the city the benefits that come from having a large civil service site in the community.”

Location

The long-term location for the Preston site is set to be announced “in due course”, with HMRC yet to determine whether St Mark’s House and St Mary’s House will be retained or if a new base will be established elsewhere in the city.

Background

It was announced in 2015 that all 170 local tax offices would close, to be replaced with regional centres.

At that time, Lin Homer, HMRC’s Chief Executive, said: “HMRC has too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices."