Unless your affairs are complicated, HMRC says that it should only take them 10 minutes to give you a decision as to whether they can be more flexible.
He said they aimed to be as "flexible" as possible, and pointed out that any decision to proceed in the absence of the accused would be at the discretion of the judge.
Complicating the decision, some companies already offer types of tax-favored health care accounts: flexible spending accounts and employer-funded health reimbursement accounts.