Complaints about HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will soon be able to be digitally escalated to the Adjudicator’s Office (AO), a move welcomed by Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee.
The AO provides an independent review of complaints about HMRC and the VOA, allowing members of the public to escalate their complaint to the AO to get an impartial hearing.
Despite the government’s ambition to make public-facing services ‘digital by default’, currently the only methods of contacting the AO are by post, telephone or fax.
Morgan wrote to HMRC in April to express the Committee’s astonishment that the public are unable to contact the AO by email. In response, HMRC has announced that it will provide email, or another form of secure digital channel, for the public to contact the AO by this Autumn at the latest.
“The AO plays a valuable role in resolving complaints against HMRC, yet many people are unaware of its existence,” said Morgan. “And of those people who are aware, it can be a struggle for them to get in touch with the AO.
“As the Adjudicator told the Committee, the lack of digital access to the AO’s service is not defendable.
“Public-facing services simply have to be digitally accessible these days. Whilst it is astonishing in this day and age to say this, HMRC’s long-overdue commitment to provide a digital channel for the public to contact the AO is welcome,” she added.
