Nicola Sturgeon seeks talks on HMRC office closures

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is seeking urgent talks with the UK Government amid fears the planned closure of a number of HM Revenue and Customs offices is putting a significant number'' of jobs at risk in Scotland.

The tax collection body's current network of offices includes bases in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and East Kilbride.

They, and a number of others across the country, are to be closed under the HMRC's plans to create a tax authority fit for the future''.

Future operations will primarily be based at two new regional centres to be established in Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2019-20. It will also maintain a presence at the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh near Glasgow.

The agency is believed to employ more than 8,000 people north of the border.

Announcing details of the shake-up, the HMRC said it expects between 2,300 and 2,600 full-time equivalent employees to work in the new Edinburgh centre and 3,400-3,700 to be based in Glasgow.

Where it is not possible for staff to move to the new centres, the agency said it would do everything it reasonably can'' to help them find new roles.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has branded the plans devastating'', and said theypose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC''.

And Ms Sturgeon said she wants talks with ministers at Westminster.

She told MSPs at Holyrood: This afternoon I will be seeking urgent talks with the UK Government about the announcement being made today by HMRC which would appear to put significant numbers of jobs in Scotland at risk.''

The plans are part of a 10-year modernisation programme which is now said to be at the halfway point.

The HMRC workforce is currently spread throughout 18 offices in Scotland, many of which date back to the 1960s and 1970s and range in size from around 1,800 employees to fewer than five.

The agency will close most of its existing offices in Scotland by 2020-21 as it moves operations to the new regional centres. Its base at Queensway House, East Kilbride, will not close until 2025-26.

The agency is shutting its bases in Inverness, Aberdeen's Ruby House and Dundee's Caledonian House, while its offices at Irvine and Glenrothes are in the process of closing.

Its operations at Bathgate, three Edinburgh offices and Livingston will be moved to the new Edinburgh centre.

The operations in Cumbernauld, Queensway House and two other offices in East Kilbride will be transferred to the new Glasgow centre, as will the work of two existing Glasgow offices.

Work at Dundee's Sidlaw House will be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The exact location of the two new city bases has not yet been announced.

HMRC said the changes will allow it to serve customers at a lower cost to the taxpayer.

Chief executive Lin Homer said: 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 in Glasgow and Edinburgh will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents.

They will also make a big contribution to the Scottish economy, providing high-quality, skilled jobs and supporting the Government's commitment to a national recovery that benefits all parts of the UK.'' Across the UK, HMRC is planning to close 137 offices under the modernisation programme. with 13 new regional centres being opened.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: No-one should be in any doubt that, if implemented, these proposals would be absolutely devastating for HMRC and the people who work there.

Closing this many offices would pose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC, its service to the public and the working lives of staff, and the need for parliamentary scrutiny of the plans is undeniable and urgent.''

• Local News