Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
Allocate sufficient resources to HMRC customer service and establish service level guard rails.
Recommendation
HMRC’s digital services have not sufficiently reduced demand on the phone and HMRC has failed to prioritise the resources needed to sustain an appropriate standard of telephone service. HMRC has been working to become a ‘digital-first’ organisation since 2010 and hopes to replace traditional forms of contact with digital services. However, telephone 3 demand has remained high, with 37 million telephone calls in 2023–24. HMRC says it has not had enough resources to deal with all the contact it has been receiving with, for example, 3 million more income taxpayers in the last two years as a result of freezing tax thresholds. In May 2024, HMRC received £51 million additional funding to cover approximately 1,500 staff for 2024–25 to bring HMRC’s customer service to target levels. However, we are concerned that performance will deteriorate again if HMRC struggles to meet further increases in demand from customers. HMRC plans to publish a ‘digital roadmap’ in Spring 2025 to set out the digital services it is expecting to develop and the investment it needs. recommendation HMRC should ensure it allocates sufficient resources to customer service now and in the future to meet its performance targets. It should establish “guard rails” to protect services. Where service levels fall more than five percentage points below target levels this should trigger a corrective response, with additional resources deployed if needed.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation, stating it already proactively reviews and adjusts resourcing levels daily and weekly, and continuously discusses performance and resource needs with HM Treasury and ministers.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department does not wait for specific performance triggers - it is always reviewing plans and forecasts of demand, monitoring performance and proactively adjusting resourcing levels day-by-day and week-by-week. By constantly taking action to flex resources between different channels, including telephones and post, HMRC delivers the best possible service with the resources available to it. There is a constant, open dialogue between HMRC, HM Treasury and ministers about HMRC’s service performance and the resource needed. Where performance pressures are identified, HMRC will always have discussions with HM Treasury and ministers about resourcing levels and whether funding or reprioritisation are needed to improve service levels.