HMRC service levels – response to our letter to Chancellor

In March, the CIOT along with other leading UK professional bodies signed an open letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, asking him to prioritise investment in HMRC’s service levels in his Budget statement that month.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST), Victoria Atkins MP has now responded to that letter, via the AAT (one of the other signatories). The response can be read here.

In her response, the FST thanks the professional bodies for raising these concerns, and acknowledges that some of HMRC’s customer service levels during 2022-23 were not where they want them to be. This is attributed to a number of causes including actions of high-volume repayment agents, IT issues and diversion of resources to urgent priorities. The FST goes on to say that, between now and 2030, HMRC will focus on building digital services such as the Single Customer Account, which should reduce the need to for taxpayers to contact them by phone and post.