HMRC formally opens Birmingham Regional Centre

Jim Harra, HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary and chief executive, unveiled a plaque at the state-of-the-art building at 3 Arena Central, just off Birmingham’s Centenary Square and adjacent to the recently redeveloped Birmingham Municipal Bank. It is home to 4,600 civil servants, including around 3,500 from HMRC.

Following the opening of the Regional Centre, HMRC will still maintain a presence at its other West Midlands office at Telford Plaza, which is home to close to 750 employees.

Also at the new 22,500 sq metre city centre office will be civil servants from the Department for Work and Pensions and Valuation Office Agency.

Spread across 13 floors, the modern and inclusive working environment will enable improved collaboration and smarter working, set amongst photography of renowned West Midlands landmarks taken by staff.

Civil servants began moving into the regional hub in August last year. The formal opening took place this week and Mr Harra told an audience of local dignitaries and HMRC staff: “Birmingham is a vibrant, growing city, and one that’s soon to welcome both athletes and fans from around the world when hosting the Commonwealth Games.

“I am delighted to mark the opening of our Regional Centre and UK Government hub at 3 Arena Central.

“This development is an important part of HMRC’s transformation into a modern and digitally-advanced tax authority and cements our position as an important contributor to the economy and communities in and around Birmingham and the West Midlands.

“The inclusive and flexible working environment has brought our people together and will create greater opportunities for collaboration to make it easier to deliver great services to our customers.”

The Birmingham Lord Mayor, Councillor Maureen Cornish, was also in attendance, as were Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the chairman of the HMRC Board, Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s deputy chief executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Aneen Blackmore, VOA’s chief corporate services officer, and Gemma Brown, DWP’s deputy director of counter fraud, compliance and debt.

Councillor Cornish said: “It was a pleasure to be at the opening of the new Government Regional Hub in Birmingham. It’s a brilliant new office with great modern facilities that will allow the thousands of civil servants based there to deliver work for the communities they serve.

“Seeing HMRC and the UK Government show their commitment to Birmingham with the new hub, right in the heart of one of the city’s newest developments, is a real endorsement for Birmingham and its vibrant business sector.”

HMRC’s locations strategy, announced in 2015, is key to enabling its wider transformation. It also supports the UK Government’s Places for Growth Programme to promote growth and jobs, by creating opportunities and career paths in towns and cities across the UK.

Moving to regional centres will save around £300 million cumulatively up to financial year 2025 to 2026 and will deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in financial year 2025 to 2026.

HMRC’s other regional centre locations are Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Stratford.