Edinburgh Regional Centre formally opens

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Edinburgh Regional Centre and UK Government hub was formally opened today (1 September 2022) by Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack MP.

Mr Jack unveiled a plaque at the flagship office, named Queen Elizabeth House, alongside HMRC’s Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, Jim Harra. Among those also attending the event were Scotland Office Director, Laurence Rockey, and the Advocate General for Scotland, Lord Stewart of Dirleton QC.

The state-of-the-art building at 1 Sibbald Walk is home to around 2,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) HMRC staff and around 640 civil servants from 24 other UK Government departments and agencies. Departments sharing the building with HMRC include the Scotland Office, Office of the Advocate General for Scotland and Department for International Trade.

The seven-storey UK Government Hub initially opened its doors to some civil servants during the pandemic on 1 September 2020 and on its second anniversary, the building has now formally been declared open.

Staff working from the site have already made a huge contribution to the country by working on the on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which helped protect more than 910,000 jobs in Scotland, including 87,500 jobs in Edinburgh.

Alister Jack MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, said:

“It’s a privilege to officially open Queen Elizabeth House, the UK Government’s state-of-the-art hub in the heart of Edinburgh.

“This flagship building will provide a base for more than a dozen UK Government departments which all have a key role in Scotland.

“It is a fantastic facility and a huge asset as we engage with stakeholders, invest in communities and serve the people of Scotland.”

Jim Harra, HMRC’s Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, said:

“It has been fantastic to finally celebrate the official opening of our Edinburgh Regional Centre and UK Government hub today.

“This modern development promotes an inclusive working environment and is an important part of HMRC’s transformation into a digitally-advanced tax authority.

“Queen Elizabeth House provides HMRC a greater opportunity to work closely with other UK Government departments to deliver our priorities such as supporting families through the cost-of-living crisis.”

HMRC also has a regional centre in Glasgow and a specialist site at Gartcosh. Earlier this year, the department announced they would retain a long-term presence in East Kilbride, which will become Phase 2 of the Glasgow Regional Centre.

Notes for Editors

1. 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.
2. HMRC’s vision is to be a trusted, modern tax and customs department. HMRC’s Locations Strategy is supporting this by delivering and maintaining modern inclusive, flexible environments, improved technology enabling HMRC to work differently, in a smarter way. It will be based in 14 regional centres serving every country and region of the UK, two of which are in Scotland, and five specialist sites, of which one of these is in Scotland. HMRC opened its first regional centre in Croydon in 2017.
3. 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.
4. HMRC’s other regional centre locations are Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Stratford.
5. Follow HMRC’s press office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice.