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HMRC website begins move to Gov.uk

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1st Mar 2013
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HMRC began the migration of its web content to the new Gov.uk portal today, starting with corporate and policy information.

The Revenue’s press room, publications and charter are now live on the portal and are redirecting from the current website.

When Gov.uk was launched in October 2012, the Spartan design and dodgy content were a point of concern for AccountingWEB members.

HMRC's new home conforms to the simplistic, not-quite-yet-finished Gov.uk design template, but hopefully it will not echo the technical errors that cropped up on the government portal when it first opened.

In November 2012, the Cabinet Office confirmed plans to complete the HMRC content migration by March, with the full switch due to be in place by December.

That timetable already looks overoptimistic, given that so little technical tax guidance has made the trip yet - let alone all the online filing systems and "customer" portals.

In response to AccountingWEB's queries, the HMRC confirmed that their website and tools will move to Gov.uk over the next 12 months. 

"Existing transitional services will remain with HMRC, however, customers will access them through Gov.uk," an official said, confirming too that all HMRC content would be switched to Gov.uk by March 2014.

An HMRC spokesperson confirmed that the Revenue is moving its corporate content to Inside Government, a subsection of Gov.uk, along with other Whitehall departments.

“This fulfils our commitment set out in the HMRC Digital Strategy, which was published last year,” a spokesman said.

“We will start publishing on Inside Government in the next week or so. After the transition, our old corporate content will be available on the National Archives site.

“HMRC’s online advice and services are unaffected by this change. This material will remain on the HMRC site for now.”

Replies (10)

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By girlofwight
01st Mar 2013 21:11

Train Wreck
It's a coming...

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Euan's picture
By Euan MacLennan
02nd Mar 2013 09:43

HMRC Manuals

"... confirming too that all HMRC content would be switched to Gov.uk by March 2014"

Even the Manuals with all their detailed guidance?

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By Paul Craig
04th Mar 2013 12:11

What a waste of money

In this era of austerity I really question whether the expenditure (no doubt sunstantial) on moving the HMRC website to gov.uk can really be justified.

I wonder how many people have a problem finding HMRC website when the search "HMRC", "tax office", "Revenue & Customs", "my tax code", "self assessment" or the many other search terms which would return HMRC website on the first page of results.  As a test I will in fact ask my young children to try and find out about tax tonight and see if they stumble across HMRC website.

I can just imagine the meeting where someone suggested that a single website would be a good idea for the Government.  Picture the scene .... lots of nodding ..... and no one prepared to say ..... "what's the overall cost of that and is it worth it?"

Bonkers.

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By michaelblake
04th Mar 2013 12:23

Improved search facilities perhaps

It will be interesting to see if the search facility improves.

I find that searching on key words or phrases for content in HMRC manuals, e.g. using the names appearing in  tax cases, is now useless even when I know the content is there.  

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By petestar1969
04th Mar 2013 13:58

Hmm

Nice new target for Anonymous.... or any other group of hackers...

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By justsotax
04th Mar 2013 13:53

@michael...

agree...you are better using the google that the Revenue's own search facility - crazy waste of money and no doubt an IT company or two have done very well out of this thank you very much (linked to those making the decisions ?!?)....and the nodding was probably done by the dozen self employed consultants sitting around the table.

 

 

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Chris M
By mr. mischief
05th Mar 2013 08:39

agreed

Much as I hate Google's morally bankrupt tax policy - which is massively at odds to their unbelievably hypocritcal Corporate Social Responsibility policy - the best way of finding anything on the HMRC site is to identify what you want to find - lets say X, go to Google and enter

HMRC X

Because so much Government IT is just plain drivel, because they have no business to lose if they implement rubbish IT, I'd sooner they moved nothing from the HMRC site, poor though the site is.

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By mikewhit
05th Mar 2013 13:47

If they are just changing the Domain name ..

It should basically cost nothing - just an HTTP redirect to the other website name

Or in any case the 'old' pages should redirect to the equivalent new pages.

Since the Govt had Tim Berners Lee in on the Olympics, they should listen to what he says about not breaking URLs

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Julia
By julia wigram
06th Mar 2013 10:47

as Paul so eloquently put it...

Bonkers.

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By Peter Tucker
07th Mar 2013 12:13

What Cost ??

Interesting to note that according to details provided by HMRC at the following link:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/transparency/gpc.htm
The annual payment for 2011/2012 from HMRC to Serco Assurance in respect of Website development and maintenance, amounted to - wait for it -

£42,629,307.38

A considerable sum of money for such an activity, and one should remember that this would be in addition to the costs of HMRC Staff actually involved in web content preparation or review.

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