From what was the Inland Revenue Electronic Exchange Network (IReeN), originally formed by the early electronic exchange users with what then was the Inland Revenue.
At the suggestion of Joan Woods of the Inland Revenue Electronic Business Unit, from humble origins, a group of experts made up of employers, local authority representatives, payroll providers, software developers and pension providers, IReeN has grown significantly and is now a well-respected electronic exchange user group by both the profession and government departments.
Some IReeN members were involved in the very early days of electronic filing by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and been party to the highs and lows of the original IR MOSES project. This then expanded to eXtensible Markup Lanuage (XML).
Lord Carter made proposals for employer to interchange electronically with the new HM Revenue and Customs. In 2013 all employers (with few exceptions) are now required to file electronic exchange data under Real Time Information (RTI).
The IReeN committee have also been party to many conversations with HMRC, DWP, BEIS and other government departments and were seen as a source of pragmatic wisdom and have helped shape legislation, guidance and system development.
Speakers from government departments are always happy to share information with the members at our national meetings because again they get honest feedback but also practical and pragmatic solutions. Our members want to help educate and explain why proposals/guidance/systems won’t work and offer alternatives.
We look at the world from the point of view of the employer, the employee or pension payee, the developer, the provider and government because we recognise that solutions have to work for all parties.
The committee is made up of volunteers from across the industry and many members also represent IReeN on various consultation bodies with government departments and we continue to nurture these relationships.
Our national meetings are always well attended, and the feedback demonstrates that we are providing the information that the profession needs in a timely fashion.
We also publish a regular bulletin which brings together articles, updates from HMRC, DWP, the Pensions Regulator and other important sources and we also receive information directly from these bodies that we are asked to share with members.
IReeN.UK last updated 28/7/2020
IReeN the electronic exchange with government user network 