Jon Thompson Chief Executive John Mann 2/75 Chair of the Treasury Sub-Committee 100 Parliament Street House of Commons London Committee Office SW1A 2BQ London SW1A 0AA 20 December 2017 Dear Mr Mann, Thank you for your letter of 6 December 2017 please find below my response to your questions raised. Results of the latest public perception survey, including a summary of the key trends in this survey since the Transformation Programme began HMRC conducts an annual survey of the Individual and Small Business customer segments; the survey also covers experience of Tax Agents. Mid-Size and Large Businesses are surveyed separately. The surveys allow the department to understand and track changes in customer experience over time. The transformation programme arose from the spending review in 2015 and overall customer experience has increased since then, with 61% of individual customers giving a positive rating in 2015 rising to 68% in 2016. Compared to 2015 there were also increases in positive ratings of: o HMRC made clear the steps that needed to be taken o HMRC getting tax transactions right o HMRC resolved any queries or issues o HMRC were approachable o Acceptability of time taken to reach an end result o Experience better compared with previous 12 months For small businesses overall customer experience remained stable with 73% of customers giving a positive rating in 2016. For mid-size businesses it rose from 51% to 55% and for large business it remained stable at 82% Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats. Text Relay service number 18001
The number of people working in HMRC s Large Business department and how they are spread regionally There were 2197 individuals working in Large Business at 31 st November 2017. With an additional 328 TSP trainees supporting the work Large Business deliver. Large Business colleagues are based across the United Kingdom to support the delivery of our work. Regional Centre LB staff (headcount) Belfast 88 Aberdeen 29 Glasgow 146 Edinburgh 137 Newcastle 154 Leeds 146 Hull 34 Manchester 139 Liverpool 192 Bootle* these are FIS staff 13 funded by LB working on a joint taskforce Warrington 31 Birmingham 181 Nottingham 151 Cambridge 26 Ipswich 18 Northampton 9 Reading 62 Oxford 5 Bristol 153 Cardiff 117 Bush House London 290 Croydon London 71 100 Parliament Street - 5 London TOTAL 2197 The full results of HMRC s most recent staff survey and the two previous surveys for comparison Please see attachment. Statistics and a commentary on recent recruitment, specifically information on the calibre of applicants when considering graduate applicants, this could be measured by class of degree held by applicants accepting a job at HMRC Currently, the number of campaigns in which degree results are collated is insufficient to provide reliable data on the calibre of applicants. For the Tax Specialist Programme, we invite applications from undergraduates. The eligibility criteria for this programme is 2:2 hons or equivalent and higher. Information held for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 indicates that, for the Tax Specialist Programme: Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats. Text Relay service number 18001
Up to 50% of total applicants hold degrees at 2:2 Honours (the eligibility level) or above. Civil Service applicants do not need to have a degree. In 2016, 84% of all successful candidates met degree eligibility. 52% of the 190 appointees for this period were from HMRC. In 2017, HMRC appointed 222 applicants, of whom 45% were from HMRC. Of these, 53% held eligible degrees. Of the 30,564 applicants in 2017, 48% held eligible degrees. 2,720 (9%) were HMRC applicants. Around 70% of successful candidates (2016, 2017) with degrees achieved a 2:1 or higher, though they made up only 50% of the total number of applicants. While candidates with higher degree classifications appear more successful, only 118 of the 14,625 eligible graduates (0.8%) were successful. In 2018 25% of total applicants are internal to HMRC, and 53% of applicants hold eligible degrees. Provide more information on the work HMRC is doing on behavioural economics and how it is helping HMRC to assess the actual impact of changes in tax policies more effectively HMRC has a number of specialists in Behavioural Insight. This capability allows the Department to better anticipate customer responses to HMRC policies, and thereby increase their effectiveness. We are applying Behavioural Insights across the business, to address challenges in compliance, debt management, penalties policy, corporate and digital communications, operations, transformation, digital design and take-up of incentive schemes. Examples include: Insights from Behavioural Science were applied to the new late submission penalty regime in Making Tax Digital for Business. The Department is using behavioural models to develop effective products and support for businesses making the transition to Making Tax Digital for Business More generally, you also agreed to keep the Sub-Committee abreast of any areas of legislation that HMRC feels could be improved to enable your Department to more effective. HMRC continually works to identify operational or legislative changes that could be made to improve the effectiveness of its work. The government recently reaffirmed its commitment to the principles set out in Tax policy making: a new approach, published in 2010, including the value of early public consultation on potential changes. Yours sincerely, JON THOMPSON CHIEF EXECUTIVE Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats. Text Relay service number 18001
HMRC questions (% strongly agree or agree) 2015 2016 2017 Building our Future helps me understand how HMRC is changing 59 Building our Future helps me understand why HMRC is changing 59 Building our Future helps me understand what my part is in contributing to that change 36 There is sufficient opportunity to innovate within my team I have a clear understanding of HMRC's strategic direction as set out in Building our Future I believe HMRC can deliver the department's future strategy as set out in Building our Future 45 67 41 67 42 I feel I have personally taken action to help HMRC deliver the department's future strategy as set out in Building our Future 41 44 I would recommend my Customer Group [Line of Business*] as a great place to work 43* 47 Using PaceSetter helps involve me in improving my work 28 I have had the opportunity to take action on the last People Survey results 33 believe that my local management manages change well 47 I see myself as part of a profession in HMRC 54 I am confident I have the digital skills I need to do my job effectively 63 67 The current HMRC approach to managing performance is helping me to improve my performance 19 21 33 The uplift on this question is largely based on the difference between the 2016 and 2017 score The number of performance discussions I have had with my line manager, throughout the reporting year, was satisfactory 61 I feel that HMRC as a whole is managed well 37 I believe that managers where I work will take action on the results of this survey 52 I feel that HMRC is focussed on the needs of its external customers 57