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HMRC have published a report, which sets out a programme designed to make the Department's IT systems more user-friendly.

HMRC's revised Equality Impact Assessment of IT Accessibility report recognises that the Department could do more to improve IT access, especially for disabled people and sets out areas where it hopes to make these improvements.

The new report documents the views of staff and customers following the consultation exercise conducted after the release of the original report in October 2007. It also provides guidance on how HMRC has responded to these comments. It is hoped to further involve disabled people in the development and testing of new IT systems and services, it adds.

The IT Accessibility Policy specifically applies to:

• HMRC’s externally facing systems – web based services (e.g. on-line tax returns) and Internet site (external users);
• The internal systems, used by staff (and to a limited extent by staff from other Departments) to administer  various tax and customs related activities;
• Any other IS tools used by staff (e.g. Word, Powerpoint, Mail, Project, development tools);
• Any hardware used by staff, including tools for homeworkers and staff working away from the office (e.g. Laptops, Handhelds, BlackBerries).

Sean Smith, IMS, said "Accessibility is important to HMRC. We want to get it right. Work has been going on for some years to improve the accessibility of our IT systems, to enable us to provide a better service for our disabled Customers and Staff. However, we accept that there is still room for improvement and are working hard to make these happen."