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Tax workers enlist MP to battle closure

18/ 4/2008

ACCRINGTON tax office workers have fired off a petition to the Prime Min-ister and enlisted the support of MP Greg Pope in a bid to keep their jobs.

The town’s Revenue and Customs office is set to close as part of a phased programme of office closures by the Government, with the first to shut next spring.

The 120 staff at Castle House, Eastgate, are bitterly fighting proposals which could force some of them to commute to Liverpool or Manchester or else lose their jobs.

Launched this week, the petition, currently carrying 50 signatures, states: "The closure of HMRC Castle House, Accrington, will be of detriment to Accrington and East Lancashire as a whole, affecting the town and local community not just now but for many years to come.

"The decision to close this building is senseless and typical of a Government hell-bent on the destruction of local communities. "

Workers staged a walkout last month when they heard their office was set to close under the restructuring programme.

An earlier report had recommended Blackburn’s tax office for closure, but it is now set to remain open, while the other regional office in Preston may not be an option for Accrington employees as other offices are also due to close in Southport and Chorley.

Davina Gregson, Burnley branch secretary of the Public and Commerical Services Union (PCSU), said: "I think the Accrington building has got a lot of potential. You could easily move a lot of staff in there, while there isn’t that potential in Blackburn. We won’t stop campaigning unitl they lock the door."

Mr Pope told the Observer he has called a meeting with the minister in charge of the plans, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Kennedy, to try to reverse the decision.

He said: "The main point is whether the office should close at all but a secondary concern is that if it does the Treasury has firm rules about where it can transfer people. There’s something called a reasonable travel distance and I cannot believe anyone thinks Bootle is a reasonable distance."

Campaigners also hope to persuade Blackburn MP Jack Straw to support the cause.

Mr Pope said: "It’s possible that Jack represents more employees. This happens quite regularly in East Lancashire where you have got people who live in one constituency but work in another."

The e-petition can be signed up to the 10 August deadline by visiting http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/accrington.