Labour’s Post Office Cuts Will Be ‘Hammer Blow’ To Community Life

Uncertainty for local Post Offices and residents across

Deborah Dunleavy, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Bolton North East, today reactly strongly at confirmation that the Government is to push ahead with the closure of 2,500 Post Offices across the country, on top of the 4,000 already shut since 1999. In Bolton North East, this could potentially mean the closure of 2 more Post Offices, from the current level of 12. 

Miss Dunleavy said,

“The Labour Government already holds the record for closing Post Offices faster than any other, they are now going to shut at least a further 2,500 branches over the next two years.  This will be a hammer blow to community life.  By the time of the next election, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will have closed over one third of the entire Post Office network. 

“I fear local communities across Bolton will lose their only shop and vulnerable people will lose a service they depended upon. Labour Ministers have taken no account of the needs of the elderly; of disabled people or of the most disadvantaged, the very ones who will lose out most as this cuts programme rolls out. Bolton NE has already lost 7 post offices since 1999” 

Conservatives have called for Sub-Post Offices to be given greater freedoms to offer a wider range of commercial products, are pushing for more Post Offices to be ‘one stop shops’ for local and central government services, and want to make the Post Office Card Account a more flexible financial tool with much greater functionality. 

Notes to Editors 

MAJOR POST OFFICE CUTS ON THE WAY 

The Government announced in December 2006 a consultation on its plans for the Post Office network. It called for major cuts in the number of Post Offices. On 17 May 2007, Labour Ministers announced the result of their so-called consultation and confirmed that they would move ahead with cuts of 2,500 Post Offices. The overwhelming majority of remaining the Post Office network are sub-post offices run by private businessmen and women. The Government states: 

“Post Office Ltd will be required to ensure that, by the end of local area plan implementation, in every postcode district, without exception, 95% of the population will be within 6 miles of their nearest post office outlet. The Government funding will support strategic changes to the network with up to 2,500 compensated closures within the access criteria framework above. The Government expects that Post Office Ltd will implement this over an 18 month period from summer 2007… 

“Post Office Ltd will draw up area plans for closures and other changes in service provision within the framework above. Post Office Ltd will be initiating this process immediately and will in due course seek information and input from relevant parties including Postwatch, subpostmasters and local authorities as area plan proposals are developed for local public consultation..” 

DTI, The Post Office Network: Government response to public consultation, May 2007

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page36024.html 

An estimated 4,600 Post Offices have already closed under the current Government. The Labour Government’s Post Office Minister told Parliament, “the reality is that too many offices are chasing too few customers to be viable” (Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Hansard, 16 October, Col. 618). 

The Chief Executive of Royal Mail has even said that he could operate the Post Office network with just 4,000 branches, down from the 14,500 at present (The Times, 19 May 2006). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2187445,00.html 

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE CUTS LOCALLY 

The precise cuts will be determined by the Royal Mail. The table below models the potential effect of reducing the Post Office network by 2,500 (assuming a uniform reduction across each Parliamentary constituency based on current levels).