Don’t allow tax offices to be moved fromValleys, MP tells May

PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has been urged to stop the UK government moving tax offices out of the Valleys.

Rhondda Labour MP Chris Bryant challenged the Conservative leader during Prime Minister’s Questions.

He said: “[Since] 2010 the government has closed the local courts, it’s closed the local tax office, the DWP office and the driving centre and now the government is intending to close all the tax offices in Wales and centralise them in Cardiff. We feel in the Valleys as if we’re just ignored by the government, so can I just beg her to change direction and start putting government offices in the small towns, villages and valleys of this country?”

Mrs May shot back: “Well, can I say [that] the last time I looked Cardiff was actually in Wales. He says we’re going to take offices away from Wales but we’re going to put them in Cardiff.”

Defending the changes, she said: “The whole point about what the HMRC is doing is that they’re moving from outdated offices to large, modern regional centres. That’s going to make it possible for them to modernise their ways of working; it will make tax collection more efficient and it will actually improve customer services by HMRC.”

Mr Bryant also urged Mrs May to come to the Rhondda, saying: “I’m happy to accommodate her... I [can do] bacon and eggs.”