ARC welcomes HMRC decision to bring IT contracts back under its direct control

5 Aug 2015 12:54 PM

ARC President Tony Wallace yesterday welcomed HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC's) decision to bring IT contracts back under its direct control.

Wallace said: "For many years, and in common with many other Government departments, HMRC has looked to suppliers outside of the civil service to provide it with the digital infrastructure that it needs.

"From November 2015 that situation will change and that, Case Management, Customs and International and third-party supplier contracts will be brought back under HMRC's direct control. 

"We welcome this and support HMRC's Chief Digital and Information Officer Mark Dearnley in his goal to build a world-class community of highly-skilled IT professionals, all playing an integral part in providing digital and IT services to HMRC.

"The setting up of a company limited by guarantee is a new delivery model and much work has still to be done around what the employment offer for staff joining the new company will look like.

"We welcome the early commitment to protection under the TUPE legislation and look forward to working with HMRC on enhancing career opportunities for skilled professionals and further improving the service they deliver to tax payers in the UK."

Notes for editors

1. HMRC has announced that the three services being transferred to its new company are:​

• Case Management, which offers a single, unified platform for handling compliance cases.
• Customs and International (Excite), which provides a wide range of services including managing the movement of duty-suspended goods and exchanging claims for VAT refunds between EU member state tax authorities.
• Third-party supplier contracts, which means HMRC will take direct ownership of contracts with third-party suppliers for a range of IT hardware, software, services and consumables.

The services and the 250 staff working on them will become part of the new company.

2. The Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC) is a union representing senior staff in HM Revenue and Customs, including tax inspectors, accountants, lawyers, managers and other leading professionals. ARC represents members in HMRC at grade 7 and above, and also trainees in grade 7 entry schemes. It is also a section of the FDA.
3. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing 18,000 of the UK's senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.
4. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".

For further information contact:

• Tony Wallace, ARC President, tel: 020 7401 5555.
• Kay Hender, Communications Manager, tel: 020 7401 5589 or 07980 700747.