Demand for the centres has halved, from five million visitors in 2005/06 to fewer than 2.5 million in 2011/12, with some centres open just a day a week as a result of the sharp drop in demand.

The Shropshire centres are located in Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Telford and Ludlow.

HMRC handles more than 60 million calls a year and millions of online transactions, such as for filing self assessment and VAT returns.

HMRC say a new, flexible support service for 1.5 million customers who need extra help with their tax affairs will be piloted from June in the North East of England until 31 October.

The new service will provide mobile, one-to-one support in a range of convenient locations, including a person’s own home or business. It will also provide expert advisors on the phone, trained to deal with people who need extra support, to help a caller until the issue is resolved. HMRC will also make more funding and support available for voluntary sector organisations to help them to deal with customers who turn to them for help.

Lin Homer, HMRC’s Chief Executive, said:

“HMRC is dedicated to providing help to customers who need it. This new service will enable us to tailor that help in a way that works better for customers and is more flexible and affordable than the service we currently provide.

“We will give a more specialised phone service for customers whose affairs can be resolved over the telephone, and face-to-face help to those who need it, visiting them at a place convenient to them, saving them both travel and time. HMRC will provide a more modern and accessible service that will target the right support to customers who need it, where and when they want it.”

HMRC say they are discussing the impacts of these changes with staff in Enquiry Centres and its unions, and will do everything possible to redeploy Enquiry Centre staff within HMRC, or help them to find another role in the Civil Service.