HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is closing down local offices and moving to regional centres to offer “modern digital services”.
The move is part of its 10 year modernisation programme and in a briefing report HMRC said the 13 regional centres will be equipped with the digital infrastructure and training facilities needed to build a “more highly skilled workforce”.
The report added: “The changes mean we can give customers the modern services they now expect as we move firmly into the digital age – allowing us to deliver better public services at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
HMRC currently has 58,000 full time employees in 170 offices throughout the country, with some offices housing fewer than 10 employees. The company aims to close down 137 of those offices by 2021.
HMRC also plans to create more mobile work with teams having access to networks of local touchdown sites across the UK where, according to HMRC, they will be able to “log in, meet customers and have the mobile IT support to their work”.
The regional offices will be based in cities across the UK in places such as Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Croyden.
The company will look for tax specialists with digital skills, data analysts and digital experts and to “work with universities and local colleges to attract the best and brightest talent”.
The report added: “We have cutting-edge systems that enable analysts to sort and sift billions of pieces of data to find discrepancies – so we need people who understand digital technology and can make the most of it.”