The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a report: Value for money which covers HMRC’s Performance management and Project and service delivery. Specifically, the department’s support of its “customers” (although I maintain the word should be; Taxpayers) through services provided online, through written correspondence and over the telephone.
(My) Summary
HMRC is awful and services are getting worse.
Some extract quotes:
“In 2022-23, HMRC spent £881 million on customer service. Performance has been below expected levels for telephone and correspondence for almost all of the last five years”.
“HMRC’s telephone and correspondence services have been falling below the expected service levels for too long, and HMRC has not achieved planned efficiencies. To achieve value for money HMRC must provide a timely and effective service for customers needing help with their tax or benefits, even as it attempts to reduce costs”.
“HMRC’s strategy to replace traditional forms of contact with digital services makes sense in many ways. Digital transactions can be easier and faster for many customers to access and submit information. However, they do not currently allow customers to resolve more complex queries”.
“… digital services have not had the effect HMRC hoped for…” “While many of HMRC’s digital services work well, they have not made enough of a difference to customer contact levels” and “they do not currently allow customers to resolve more complex queries”.
“HMRC has been unable to cope with telephone demand and consequently fallen short in processing correspondence and dealing with telephone calls according to procedures, creating further service pressures. HMRC felt it had no choice but to close phone lines to catch up and compel people to use digital services. It has had to reverse this approach in the face of stakeholder opposition”.
“There are opportunities to reduce unnecessary levels of contact and improve efficiency. HMRC must demonstrate it understands how to make these gains, and form more realistic plans for how to deliver these, while ensuring it maintains service levels.”
This performance is simply unacceptable – as anyone who has had dealings with HMRC will know.