HMRC closes enquiry centres: AAT responds

HMRC to roll out enquiry centre closures isn’t a new issue for AAT; it is something that has been on our radar for a while and with which we have been heavily involved as soon as the consultation started in March 2013.

The consultation from HMRC outlined how they proposed to handle taxpayer and claimants’ queries when the closures would occur. AAT responded having conducted initial research with our own membership as well as collaborating with the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG). This research highlighted some alarming statistics.

•    87% of respondents said: they were not at all or less than satisfied with waiting times on HMRC’s website

•    71% said they were not at all or less than satisfied with the ease of finding information on HMRC’s website

Naturally we considered that it was essential to respond to the consultation acting on behalf of our membership, but also in order to represent those customers that would be most affected. We also saw this as an opportunity, through working closely with HMRC to help them to address the public’s perception through encouraging greater transparency and openness.

In our response we stated that in our view HMRC had already decided that it was going to close the enquiry centres irrespective of the outcome of the consultation, and as such we focused our response on how HMRC could ensure that the needs of the taxpayers would be best met through the development of the proposed new services.

Here’s what we asked HMRC to consider:

•    The needs of individual customer groups including the hard of hearing (including those who depend on lip reading), those without access to a telephone, the digitally excluded and those for whom English is not their first language.

•    Extending the pilot until after the Self-Assessment deadline (January 2014) so HMRC can fully ensure the proposed service will be able to meet high levels of demand.

•    How HMRC will manage the needs of customers who cannot remember their security details, as currently they are referred to their nearest enquiry centre and what arrangements they will make for those wishing to deliver sensitive documents.

•    Planning in advance for regular events, such as the arrival of seasonal workers, people leaving school and students graduating to help them navigate their way through the tax system.

Since the consultation, HMRC have informed us that they have conducted a  successful seven-month trial (pilot) of alternative services in the North East. As a consequence, HMRC have announced their new services will be available from 31 May this year, and that the closure of the entire enquiry centre network will occur by 30 June 2014.

Why are HMRC closing the enquiry centres?

Research conducted by HMRC revealed that while the enquiry centre network did benefit the people that were using them, the number of people using them was dwindling year-on-year.

The new services are designed to help those customers who need extra help. It will involve a specialised phone service supported by a mobile team of advisers who will also meet those that require it, face-to-face at times and in locations to suit them.

This is something that has been applauded.  However from May it will be important to understand how this will be implemented. To some extent our initial concerns remain.  We need to ensure that the right customer groups access the services that have been made available.

New online form to help customers with speech or hearing difficulties.

Here HMRC tell us how they will cater for the considerations we raised…

•    The needs of individual customer groups including the hard of hearing (including those who depend on lip reading), those without access to a telephone, the digitally excluded and those for whom English is not their first language.

HMRC has been working to find alternatives for customers who may have difficulties with making initial contact by telephone. They have already introduced a new online form which allows customers who have issues with their speech or hearing to request a face-to-face appointment online. HMRC have also made it easier for friends and family to speak to them on a customer’s behalf and, where appropriate, arrange a face-to-face appointment that way.

•    Extending the pilot until after the Self-Assessment deadline  (January 2014) so HMRC can fully ensure the proposed service will be able to meet high levels of demand.

While the pilot ended in December 2013, the new service has continued to operate in the North East area in the interim period which has included the Self Assessment (SA) peak in January. HMRC have continued to gather data in the pilot area during this time, and have identified no issues with the extra demand created by the SA deadline on 31 January.

•    How HMRC will manage the needs of customers who cannot remember their security details, as currently they are referred to their nearest enquiry centre and what arrangements they will make for those wishing to deliver sensitive documents.

During the pilot HMRC have continued to arrange face-to-face appointments for customers who need to verify their ID, but are developing alternative arrangements for the future.

•    Planning in advance for regular events, such as the arrival of seasonal workers, people leaving school and students graduating to help them navigate their way through the tax system.

The new services are designed to identify those customers who need extra help when their queries and cannot be resolved via our online services or telephone. HMRC’s website provides help and guidance to all customer groups on a wide range of tax and benefit issues aimed at covering a variety of circumstances, and some targeted outreach activities will be considered where appropriate.

AAT’s stance on how the new services will work in May

We are pleased with the steps HMRC appears to have adopted in response to the issues referenced above, however one key aspect of our response was the emphasis we placed on the need for HMRC to invest in the training and development of its staff. Failure to ensure that the staff who will be involved in the delivery of the new services have been suitably trained will potentially reduce further levels of confidence in HMRC’s customer service.

Furthermore, given the specific and potentially sensitive needs of some of those who will be looking to access the new services, HMRC staff will need to be able to deploy staff capable of the delicate handling of those groups of individuals. Looking ahead, within our response to the consultation we also recommended that HMRC ensured that the following were addressed:

•    Improvements in telephony infrastructure
•    Scope for reflection on customer feedback, and the swift addressing of any significant and recurring issues customers encounter
•    Adaptability to change
•    Continual review of the groups of customers that these new services are seeking to assist
•    Quick identification of any customers who cease to engage through the shift to the new approach

Where do we go from here?

The results of the pilot do appear to give us some cause to be confident that HMRC’s new services will meet the needs of those who require extra help in a more flexible and tailored way, however we will continue to reflect on its progress taking the above issues into specific consideration.

The pilot period has been used to test and refine the new services in order to make a number of changes to its original design based on feedback received from AAT and other external stakeholders, such as the Low Income Tax Reform Group and their own staff. As a consequence, HMRC is positive and independent research has further shown a marked improvement for customers, compared to previous experiences with HMRC.

As with most new services and initiatives there is bound to be an initial ‘bedding-in’ phase. HMRC are confident that that they can adapt to meet the needs of its customers now and in the future.

To that end AAT, other representative bodies and the charitable sector, will closely monitor the situation on an ongoing basis to ensure that those most in need are supported.

To read up more about the policy work and consultation documents that AAT work on; please look  here.

Adam Harper is AAT's Director of Professional Standards & Policy..