Revenue and Customs

Mrs. Betty Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 260W, on Revenue and Customs: Wales, what arrangements other business units relocating from Bangor have in place to ensure continuation of the provision across north Wales of the Welsh language service.

Mr. Timms
I have been asked to reply.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides a comprehensive Welsh language service across all business areas in line with the Welsh Language Act 1993. The majority of HMRC’s Welsh language services are provided from its offices in Porthmadog and Cardiff. These offices continue to be able to recruit Welsh speaking staff. They are being retained and the services they provide to Welsh speaking customers who telephone, visit or write, will be unaffected by the regional review decisions for Wales.

Those business units currently located in Bangor which offer services to external customers (principally Debt Management and Banking, Local Compliance and Benefits and Credits Delivery) are committed to the continued provision of a Welsh language service in accordance with HMRC’s Welsh Language Scheme. Details of the scheme are published on the HMRC internet site at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cymraeg/welsh-language-scheme-english.pdf

As my hon. Friend confirmed in her earlier answer of 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 263W, face to face inquiry services in Bangor will continue to be provided for Welsh language speakers either from the same building or from another building nearby.