HMRC’s Belfast Regional Centre and UK Government hub formally opens

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Belfast Regional Centre and UK Government hub was formally opened today (19 October 2022) by Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Erskine House on Chichester Street, a short walk from Belfast City Hall, is one of HMRC’s 14 new regional centres across the UK. It first opened for business in December 2019 but its official opening has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the event, NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris unveiled a plaque in Erskine House to an audience of civil servants, including Jim Harra, HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive.

Also in attendance at the eight-storey building were Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, and Madeleine Alessandri, Permanent Secretary for the Northern Ireland Office,

The modern, hi-tech building is home to around 2,100 HMRC employees and more than 250 other civil servants. It allows the departments to work in new ways, delivering an effective service for customers and providing a modern and collaborative working environment for staff.

Joining HMRC at the 9,424m² office are civil servants from the Northern Ireland Office, Competition & Markets Authority, Cabinet Office, Department for International Trade and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Chris Heaton-Harris, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said:

“It is a real honour to officially open Erskine House today and I’m very pleased that the Northern Ireland Office is based at this great location in the heart of Belfast. Erskine House is simply a great place to work and fit for a modern Civil Service to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

“It is excellent to see regional UK Government hubs such as these rooted in the communities they serve, providing the benefits of close collaboration, and helping to create high quality job opportunities across all four UK nations."

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

“I am delighted to mark the opening of our Regional Centre and UK Government hub in Belfast.

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

“This UK Government Hub at Erskine House is home to a professional and vibrant civil service community working to deliver great services to our customers and I am happy to be in Belfast to mark the occasion.”

Belfast Regional Centre is a two-site location, with 300 other HMRC colleagues based in Carne House, Belfast.

Notes to 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 a network of regional centres serving every country and region of the UK. 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 rising to around £90m from 2028 to 2029.
4. HMRC’s regional centre locations are Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Stratford.
5. Follow HMRC’s Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice