MORE than 2,000 jobs will move out of the district after a Government Minister said there are “no plans” to go back on a decision to send HMRC jobs to a regional hub in Leeds.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison MP laid out the reasons why HM Revenue and Customs had chosen Leeds over Bradford for the new hub in a letter sent to Shipley MP Philip Davies.

The decision means that more than 2,000 jobs will disappear from the district, at HMRC’s two city centre offices in Nelson Street and St Blaise Way, and in Victoria Street, Shipley.

Ms Ellison identified a number of key reasons for the decision to base the hub in Leeds.

She wrote: “More HMRC staff will be within reasonable travelling distance of a Leeds site, allowing it to retain more of its best people.

“HMRC expects its staff in Bradford and Shipley to be able to travel to the regional centre in Leeds. These staff will continue to live in Bradford and Shipley and continue to spend money locally, minimising the impact on the economies of these areas.

“Whilst Bradford would offer competitive rent costs, it would not be right for HMRC to simply opt for the location that offers the cheapest property costs if an alternative site with slightly higher property costs offers a better net return.

“I appreciate this is disappointing, however there are no plans to change the strategy.”

A “larger population”, “higher volume of economically active people in skilled roles” and “stronger volume of students in further and higher education” were listed as reasons for having the centre in Leeds.

Mr Davies said he was not “entirely sure ministers have fully grasped they have not identified a suitable site in Leeds”.

He said: “In any negotiations, if they do find a site and they go to the person who owns it and say ‘we want the site for HMRC’, if the owner quotes a ridiculous price, why not move to Bradford rather than saying we have committed to Leeds so we will pay it?

“It’s a ludicrous tactic.

“They say it’s only a short distance from Bradford to Leeds, but it’s an equally short distance from Leeds to Bradford, I cannot grasp why that is so difficult to comprehend.

“We are pushing water up hill at the moment but we must continue; it will be cheaper, much more convenient and I hope common sense will prevail.”

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, backed Mr Davies’ points.

He said: “We are continuing to make the case to HMRC and the Government that the best place to locate a regional centre is in Bradford and not Leeds.

“Of the 4,400 staff to be relocated across the region into the new hub, more than half are already based in the district.

“Accommodation costs are generally 30 per cent lower than in Leeds, saving around £3.5m a year in rent and rates alone.

“In Bradford we have land ready for use and property prices are significantly lower than in Leeds, so it would help HMRC be on time and on budget.

“Locating the centre in Bradford would still leave it open for the Leeds workforce while delivering additional savings and providing a greater boost to Bradford’s economy than it would for Leeds.”

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, has called on HMRC to stop its restructure.

He said: “With costs rising and the cracks beginning to show, it is now imperative that HMRC halts these plans and allows MPs and the public to have their say.”

HMRC will close its Bradford offices in 2019/2020, with the new regional centre in Leeds opening in 2020.

The plans were labelled as “unrealistic” by a National Audit Office report last month.

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