A Black Country trade union boss has criticised plans to close HM Revenue & Customs’ branch at Brierley Hill’s Waterfront by the end of next year.

The UK's tax authority is set to shut 137 local offices over the next 10 years, including Brierley Hill’s Bridge House, and replace them with 13 regional centres as it tries to make savings of £100 million.

However, the decision has been criticised by Tim Crumpton, the chairman of the Public and Commercial Services Union West Mercia branch.

He claims jobs will be put at risk as thousands of workers from offices across the West Midlands are forced into one central base in Birmingham.

Lin Homer, HMRC's chief executive, defended the decision, saying the authority is “committed to modern, regional centres, serving every region and nation in the UK”.

She said: “HMRC has too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices. This makes it difficult for us to collaborate, modernise our ways of working, and make the changes we need to transform our service to customers and clamp down further on the minority who try to cheat the system.

“The new regional centres will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents."