WFH

William Churchill made this Freedom of Information request to HM Revenue and Customs Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was refused by HM Revenue and Customs.

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

It was reported by Martin Lewis that HMRC built a new microservice web service during COVID specifically to handle WFH claims;

1. How much did this cost?
2. Did HMRC complete an impact assessment of the installation, if so please include copies.
3. Please provide a number of how many applied for and obtained the relief and the impact on the treasury of applications for WFH claims in against the 2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years.
4. As a percentage of the total workforce and an absolute number, how many of HMRC's employees applied for and obtained the allowance, through the webservice and as a separate number through other means?
5. Martin Lewis indicates he has direct conversations with HMRC, please indicate:
i) How many times Martin Lewis has attended HMRC's premises for meetings
ii) In what capacity does HMRC deal with Martin Lewis (ie, what is his role that allows him special access)
iii) Has Martin Lewis ever met with Jim Harra or Angela McDonalds, if so please provide dates and minutes of the meetings.
iv) Please confirm if Martin Lewis is registered for AML purposes on HMRC's ledger as an accountancy services provider and "tax advisor".

Yours faithfully,

William Churchill

Team, FOI, HM Revenue and Customs

Our ref: FOI2023/94803

Dear William Churchill,

Thank you for your request, which was received on 25 November.

Please remember to quote the reference number above if you need to contact
us about this request again.

We aim to respond to all freedom of information requests within 20 working
days. We will either send you the information you have asked for or let
you know why we can't.

If we can't reply by 27 December 2023, we will write to let you know the
reason and when you can expect a response.

Yours sincerely

HMRC Information Rights Unit

Team, FOI, HM Revenue and Customs

Dear William Churchill

I am writing to update you on the status of your FOI requests and to
apologise for our delay in issuing a response.

In dealing with all FOI requests HMRC works to the standard set by the
independent Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is to deal with
at least 90% of FOI requests within 20 working days of receipt. While we
meet this target most of time, there are some cases that take longer than
20 days to process (for example, because of their complexity). Your FOI
request is one such case.

I want to assure you that we are still working on your requests and aim to
provide a reply shortly. I will update you further should we not be able
to issue our response within the next fortnight.

Kind regards

HMRC Information Rights Unit

William Churchill

Dear Team, FOI,

The response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the should should have responded by now .

Yours sincerely,

William Churchill

Information Rights Unit, HM Revenue and Customs

Dear William Churchill

I am writing to update you on the status of your FOI request and to
further apologise for our delay in issuing a response.

In dealing with all FOI requests HMRC works to the standard set by the
independent Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is to deal with
at least 90% of FOI requests within 20 working days of receipt. While we
meet this target most of time, there are some cases that take longer than
20 days to process (for example, because of their complexity). Your FOI
request is one such case.

I want to assure you that we are still working on your request and aim to
provide a reply shortly, once necessary checks have been finalised. I will
update you further should we not be able to issue our response within the
nex t fortnight.

Kind regards

HMRC Information Rights Unit

Information Rights Unit, HM Revenue and Customs

1 Attachment

Dear William Churchill,

We are writing in response to your request for information, received 25
November.

Yours sincerely,

HMRC Freedom of Information Team