HM Revenue and Customs will close all Inland Revenue offices in the East of England, a union has announced. 

Southend and Chelmsford offices are among the closures planned. 

In Southend the authority, which is responsible for delivering tax credits and income tax, has an office at Alexander House.

HMRC is planning to close 170 offices across the country as part of a restructuring plan designed to save millions of pounds from its budget.

The Union representing the staff says, ‘This devastating HMRC closure plan must be subject to parliamentary review’

Plans announced to staff this morning will see the eventual closure of all HM Revenue and Customs offices in the East of England as part of a UK wide plan to close all but 17 of 160.

A total of 15 offices are due to close in the East of England between 2017 and 2021. The earliest closures will by March 2017, including offices in Bedford, Chelmsford, Colchester, Felixstowe and Norwich.

There will be later closures between 2019 to 2021 in Cambridge and Peterborough.

Eventually the vast majority of the HMRC’s work covering the East of England will be delivered from one ‘super site’ in Stratford, East London.

This would be "devastating" and must be reviewed by MPs, the Public and Commercial Services union says.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "No one should be in any doubt that, if implemented, these proposals would be absolutely devastating for HMRC and the people who work there. 

"Closing this many offices would pose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC, its service to the public and the working lives of staff, and the need for parliamentary scrutiny of the plans is undeniable and urgent."

Thousands of jobs could be at risk as part of the proposal which will involve replacing the offices with 13 regional centres.

The plan involves the creation of fewer, but larger offices though concerns have been raised it will leave many parts of the country with little HMRC coverage.

An HMRC spokesman said the changes were part of a modernisation programme to create fewer but bigger offices.