HMRC bosses say they will remain in Washington offices until 2030 - as unions warn of greater demands over Brexit

In November 2015, the department announced its Waterview Park site – home to 2,100 full-time equivalent workers - would remain open as a “Transitional Site” until 2024-25, before work moved to the Newcastle Regional Centre at Benton Park View.

Now it has decided to keep Washington open until 2030, “to help meet its future needs and accommodate a larger workforce than previously forecasted in 2015.”

It has also said before the lease for Waterview Park expires in 2024-25, HMRC will renegotiate the lease or look for an alternative location in Washington.

Colin Casse, locations programme director, said: “This commitment means more people will be able to stay with us for longer and helps us keep an even stronger presence in the North of England.

“We remain committed to the overall strategy of moving to regional centres and we always knew that in a programme of this size and duration our plans would need to remain flexible to help us meet new challenges.”

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) cautiously welcomed the decision and said it still had concerns for the HMRC office in Peterlee, with the union confirming there is no change to the department’s plan to close that office in 2022/23.

People working at HMRC’s Stockton office will see a voluntary redundancy programme begin in April.

It said the Government announced in 2015 it would reduce its number of offices from 170 to 13 regional offices, with a further four small sites, with Benton its large base in the North East.

Martin Kelsey, the PCS group secretary for its Revenue and Customs Group, said: “Obviously we welcome anything that means people have got a bit of job security for a bit longer.

“We have always believed there is a long-term future for our members across the country, particularly in light of Brexit, where the HMRC is going to be a big department when it comes to dealing with changes as a result of us no longer being part of a single market and crucially, no longer being part of a customs union.

“We need to think about that means for the UK, coming out of the European Union, where you would think the department would be a bit more reticent on changing offices and closure plans.

“While we will see an extension to the lifetime of the likes of Washington, we think there is a longer future for the people, who have what amounts to thousands of years of tax experience which is crucial at this time.”