'Cast iron assurance' demand on Wick tax office
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE Wick tax office should be given “a cast-iron assurance” by the UK Government that it will not be threatened with closure again.
That is the view of local MSP Rob Gibson who was “delighted” that 20 staff have been given a two-year reprieve by HM Revenue and Customs. The office had been due to close in March 2012 but after a well-supported campaign against the move HMRC decided to keep it open until 2014.
Mr Gibson, the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, welcomed the reprieve and was pleased that progress had been made in the bid to keep the Wick tax office open.
But he would like an assurance from the Westminster Government that the office will not be under threat of closure again.
Mr Gibson paid tribute to the local campaigners and tax office employees, who he said had demonstrated the very best of Wick’s fighting spirit.
“Let this be a message from the Far North to Danny Alexander’s Treasury – you don’t mess with Wick.”
He said: “I am delighted at this good news which will come as a great relief to the employees of Wick’s tax office. They have worked long and hard to get to this point and have run the very model of a local campaign. They have demonstrated the very best of Wick’s fighting spirit.
“Wick has won work – what we need now is a cast-iron guarantee from the UK Government, that the Lib Dem
A similar stance was taken by Coreen Campbell, who chairs the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council. She, too, was delighted with the HMRC decision.
“The two-year reprieve is wonderful news but we need reassurance about the longer term. It would have been much better if there was an assurance that the tax office would be kept open permanently,” she said.
Mrs Campbell said the fight to retain the Wick office should continue. “We should do all we can to maintain it over the next two years. We must keep the momentum going.”
Lynn Henderson, the Scottish secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, praised the efforts of all those who opposed the closure.
“This has been a fantastic campaign which has been fought and won locally.
“I am proud of the role PCS members have played in the campaign.
“Not only has it put Wick on the map for those fighting the Conservative
“Our members have vowed to continue with the campaign and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the local community to ensure the threat of closure is withdrawn.”
PCS Wick office secretary Allan Tait added: “We have put a tremendous amount of effort into the campaign and I would like to thank everyone for their support to date.
“This is, however, not the end of the campaign but simply an important key milestone. We have a long a very long road ahead of us until we achieve our ultimate goal, which is to remove the closure threat completely.”
As reported in Friday’s John O’Groat Journal, Mr Tait described the HMRC reprieve as “unprecedented” but stressed: “A battle has been won but we will have to keep up the pressure to ensure we also win the war.”
Local MP John Thurso, who was heavily involved in the campaign from the outset, was also pleased with the news.
“I would have liked to see all the staff retained on a permanent basis but, at least, this proposal keeps the office open and a significant number of people in post,” he said.
The union-led Wick Wants Work campaign won support from members of the public, politicians from all parties and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
Like others across the UK, tax compliance staff in Wick work to help tackle the estimated £120 billion in taxes that are evaded, avoided or uncollected every year.
