HMRC Welsh app branded a ‘gimmick’ as just two in 100 native speakers use it
HM Revenue & Customs’ Welsh-language app has been branded a ‘gimmick’ as analysis reveals just two in every 100 native speakers use it.
The tax authority launched a Welsh version of its app in June 2022 with a dedicated team to help residents manage their tax affairs online.
However, just 13,831 native speakers have used the app since it launched, data revealed to The Telegraph by a Freedom of Information request shows.
This means that of the nearly 900,000 Welsh people who said at the end of December that they could speak the language, just 1.5pc used the service.
The Welsh version of the app, developed by a team in the tax authority’s Cardiff office, can be accessed through the settings of the HMRC app. For every page that is available in Welsh, “CYM” will appear in the top right of the screen, which can be clicked for translation.
Campaigners described the project as a “pet project” and said politicians should have to prove that it was delivering value for taxpayers. HMRC declined to say how much the app has cost the taxpayer.
Jonathan Eida, researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, said: “Taxpayers will be demanding to know the cost of a service that seems to be little used.
“With very few Welsh speakers not also able to speak English, local politicians need to provide clear justification for funding what looks to many like a pet project.”
Mr Eida added: “Taxpayers expect government services to be genuinely necessary, not simply gimmicks to appeal to certain voters”.
Welsh nationalists have long defended their right to access government services in their language. Language campaigner Toni Schiavone will appear in court in Aberystwyth for the fourth time on May 13 over his refusal to pay a parking charge notice that was issued in English. He demanded that the fine be sent to him in Welsh and refused to pay it until it was.
In January high street lender HSBC was branded a “disgrace” by nationalist MPs after it announced plans to axe a dedicated customer phone line for Welsh speakers.
The bank blamed the closures on a lack of demand and said there were still Welsh speaking staff in half of their branches in Wales.
HMRC has faced huge criticism in recent months over its attempts to push taxpayers online. The tax office was forced into an embarrassing U-turn in March when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ordered it to keep its helpline open after announcing plans to close every summer.
Last month chief executive Jim Harra said the closures remain a key part of HMRC’s future strategy.
A HMRC spokesman said: “We support the use of Welsh language online and in the HMRC app to meet customer demand and comply with the Welsh Language Act 1993.”
