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Downtime
The frequency that HMRC's website was overloaded, off-line, slowed up through demand and unable to offer complete access in each of the last 24 months was the subject of a recent written question. Dawn Primarolo said that the information was 'not readily available in the format or for the whole period requested' but said that 'HMRC's website has remained available to users continuously since October 2005'. She added that certain online functions or pages of information and guidance within the website were withdrawn occasionally for maintenance, upgrades or updating of content.
She said further that during particularly busy periods, e.g. around filing dates, users of the website could 'occasionally experience access difficulties or slow running'. Other reasons why users experienced problems were for various reasons outside HMRC's direct control; these included the type of connection and equipment used and the speed and capacity of third parties' communications infrastructure.
